The Giant King by Kenneth Robeson
by Unitarian Jihadist
Summary: Doc Savage and his friends, including the Black Panther, join forces with the crew of the Venture to return Kong home. But to get out of Kong’s world alive everyone must now rely on the great ape’s incredible strength and even more incredible mind.
1. Chapter 1 A Giant Escapes!

**The Giant King**

**By Kenneth Robeson**

_Doc Savage_ and his friends, including _the Black Panther_, join forces with the crew of the Venture to return _King Kong_ home. But to get out of Kong's world alive everyone must now rely on the great ape's incredible strength and even more incredible mind.

**First of all, the necessary disclaimers: This is a work of fan fiction, written by me because I am a fan of the characters I am using. I use none of them with permission, and I get no profit except my enjoyment and hopefully the enjoyment of others. This story features the creations of Merian C. Cooper, Edgar Wallace, and company, as adapted by Peter Jackson and associates. This story also includes the characters created by Lester Dent (writing as Kenneth Robeson) and the editors of Street and Smith's Doc Savage Magazine. The Black Panther was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and originally introduced in the Fantastic Four, but this version of the Black Panther is not T'Challa, but a predecessor (perhaps T'Challa's grandfather or great uncle). This story will also include at least references to concepts from the Disney version of The Mighty Joe Young (also originating with Merian C. Cooper and associates), Congo by Michael Crichton, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Gladiator by Phillip Wylie, various other pulp heroes, and several other sources introduced as we go along. **

**Secondly, a warning to fans of the movie: I will be substantially reworking the mythology of the Jackson movie, particularly as it relates to "Skull Island". In other words, don't expect it to be true to the book The World of King Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island,****because as much as I liked that book, I have substantial problems with the idea that Kong lived on an island in the east Indian Ocean, much less the idea that he was transported from that location to New York on the Venture. So, an alternative explanation for Skull Island will be proposed here. Hope you enjoy it. **

**With that in mind, here we go. **

Chapter 1 A Giant Escapes!

Although they were dressed alike, the two men entering the Alhambra Theater on a surprisingly warm December night couldn't have looked more different. One man was of medium height, sharply handsome with the mobile mouth of an orator. He was Theodore Marley Brooks, former Brigadier General and head of a secret think tank during the Great War. He was one of the most gifted lawyers Harvard ever turned out, and looking at him, clad in his elegant black tuxedo and black top hat, no one would have been surprised to learn this. His friends called him Ham, all except for his _best_ friend, who called him a shyster.

In stark contrast the other man, although clad in a matching tuxedo and top hat, looked like a red headed orangutan stuffed into fancy clothes. Under the top hat was a shock of red hair covering very little forehead to speak of. Tiny eyes looked out from pits of gristle, and in profile one would have sworn that his face in fact projected like an ape's. Completing the impression of apishness, his legs were short and bowed, and his arms were long, hanging almost to his knees. His hands were huge, with red hair on the backs of them. One might have assumed, looking at him, that there was very little intelligence in his small appearing cranium. However, such an assumption could not be further from the truth because the apish man was the former Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Blodgett Mayfair, graduate of both Harvard and the University of Chicago, and a brilliant chemist whose research had resulted in compounds found in everything from the latest plastics to the latest toothpaste. He was also a member of the same secret think tank during the Great War as his friend Ham. His friends called him Monk, all except for his _best_ friend, who called him a big stupid ape.

"So, you big stupid ape, couldn't scare up a date eh?" said Ham to his best friend. "And in your case, I do mean _scare _up a date."

"Shaddup, shyster," said Monk to his best friend, his voice coming out as a squeak one had to strain to hear. "I'll have you know that my date's already here."

"You lying anthropoid," Ham replied with an elegant snort. On his left arm was a very lovely young brunette in an elegant, long red dress and black mink coat. "We all know you couldn't get a date if your life depended on it."

Ham smiled inwardly as his friend's face turned a bright red to match his shock of red hair. The elegant lawyer knew that his friend was actually very gifted in getting dates with attractive members of the opposite sex. No one, including Monk himself, quite understood how he did it. However, no one could deny that the ape-like chemist could turn on the charm when he wanted to, changing his usual high screech of a voice into a pleasing baritone.

"That's rich, shyster," Monk replied hotly. "Being called a liar by a lawyer is like being called stupid by a moron. My date's in Denham's show."

Ham snorted again.

"Who is this unfortunate girl, who gets to perform with one ape only to go out with another?"

"Crystal Evans," Monk replied. "You remember her."

Indeed Ham did. Both he and Monk had pursued the pretty young blond, who had ambitions of becoming an actress. Ham had thought that she had given them both the cold shoulder.

"You…you…" Ham stuttered, but couldn't continue. He didn't want to insult the lovely young woman he already had on his arm by accusing Monk of cheating in their earlier contest for Crystal Evans. He saw Monk, who of course was very aware of his friend's predicament, with a smug smile on his undeniably ugly face. The lawyer made a mental note to be especially alert to any opportunity to humiliate his best friend. This never ending game of one-upmanship formed the basis of their friendship.

As Monk and Ham continued to squabble, another man entered the theater. This man looked, in his own way, every bit as unusual as Monk. The man looked like a human daddy longlegs, nearly 7 feet tall and so thin it looked as if the slightest breeze might break him in two. He was so tall that even though he ducked as he entered into the theater lobby, his top hat brushed the elevated doorframe and fell off of his head, revealing thinning short dark hair. Flushing slightly in embarrassment, the tall thin man bent down and picked up his hat, and as he replaced it on his head he scanned the crowd until he saw Monk and Ham both waving to him. The newcomer was William Harper Littlejohn. A severe visual impairment in his left eye, over which he wore a monocle for formal occasions, kept him from going into the service, but it didn't keep him from becoming one of the world's most prominent archeologists, as well as a respected paleontologist. His friends called him Johnny, and Ham and Monk were two of his closest friends.

"Salutations, my collegial acquaintances!" Johnny said as he approached Monk and Ham. Johnny's informal rule in life was never say in one or two short words what could be said in several long words. Johnny took a kind of perverse pleasure in seeing people scramble for their dictionaries, or just look dumbfounded, when he spoke to them. Rarely, however, did he succeed in mystifying or confusing Monk or Ham with his verbosity.

"Hi, Johnny," Monk said. "Glad you could join us."

"Indeed, I am pleased to renew my association with you as well," said Johnny as he finally made his way over to his two friends.

Ham's date turned to the lawyer and whispered loudly, "Where do you _find_ these oddballs, Hammie?"

"They're my _friends_, Marilyn," Ham said in a disapproving tone.

"But you _always_ make fun of how Monk looks," Marilyn said. "And the other guy looks weirder than he does."

"I make fun of Monk _because_ he's my best friend," Ham said. "We always insult each other. That doesn't mean that I will just stand by and let anyone _else_ insult him, or Johnny."

"Okay!" Marilyn said angrily. "_Okay_! I didn't_ know_, for cryin' out loud!"

Inwardly, Ham knew this would be the last time he accompanied Miss Marilyn Ally anywhere, which was too bad, the lawyer thought, because she was really easy on the eyes. In the end, however, he preferred girls who were not so quick to judge his friends based on their appearance. Since he was dating Marilyn because she was a knockout, the irony of his thinking was not lost on him. He knew that Monk would no doubt take the earliest opportunity to rib him on his double standard.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the three men and the girl as they made their way, pressed together by the crowd, to the theater doors. All around them, people in various forms of formal dress talked excitedly.

Then a voice bellowed from amidst the center of popping flashbulbs.

"Monk? Ham? Is that you?"

"Hello, Carl," said Monk in his most magnificent baritone.

"Good to see you fellows," Carl Denham said as he made his way over to them and shook first Monk's hand, then Ham's. Denham, who was the producer of the show they had come to see, exuded high energy. He was a man of just below medium height, slightly heavy in the middle, although whatever extra weight he carried didn't seem to slow him down.

Denham had known Monk and Ham since the Great War. He was a young bomber pilot (in fact, he'd lied about his age to get into the service) who had very definite ideas about the potential of air power during the war, and would talk endlessly about them to anyone who would listen. Denham soon acquired the reputation of being a big talking dreamer, but as a pilot no one could question his guts. After being shot down, Denham had made his way back through enemy lines after setting his own broken arm. The tale of a wounded, presumed dead, Carl Denham staggering onto the airfield he'd taken off from a week earlier became something of a small legend in its retelling. The small legend of Lt. Carl Denham, in turn, brought him to the attention of General "Black Jack" Pershing, who had something of a soft spot for convalescing officers with courage. Then, as now, Denham never missed an opportunity to try to sell someone influential on something, and he immediately started to talk to Pershing about the importance of air power. As Pershing often did when confronted with someone who claimed to have an idea that would revolutionize warfare, he sent Denham to Brigadier General Brooks' think tank. Denham's ideas were nothing that Ham's crew hadn't considered before, but the small quartet of brilliant but wild men liked Denham's sheer brass, and so they let him stick around.

"So how big is this gorilla of yours anyway?" Monk asked Denham, his voice returning to its customary squeak.

Denham simply smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

"You'll see for yourself soon enough," Denham said as he turned his attention to Johnny.

"You must be Doctor Littlejohn," Denham said, extending his hand to Johnny. The tall archeologist/paleontologist took Denham's hand and shook it. "Boy, you of all people would _love_ Skull Island."

"I am confident that I would take imagined pleasure in a fantastical pseudo-visit to your ersatz land mass," Johnny said.

Denham nodded, still smiling. Evidently, he was unaware that Johnny had just accused him of making Skull Island up.

"So, is the big guy himself here?" Denham asked, looking around.

Monk, Ham, and Johnny all knew immediately who Denham meant. During the Great War, the members of Ham's think tank met a remarkable teenaged surgeon, Clark Savage Junior, or "Doc". In Doc Savage, each member of the think tank found a colleague and a kindred spirit, a fellow freak. After the war, the former think tank members joined Doc as he traveled the world helping people in need. Johnny, Doc's boyhood friend, soon joined them in their adventures. To the world at large, Monk, Ham, and Johnny were Doc's "aides". However, Doc simply referred to them as "brothers". Doc was now famous throughout the world, known as the "Man of Bronze" because of the metallic bronze tint of his skin and his hair. He was a physical and mental marvel, the enemy of international criminals whose evil deeds horrified and mystified the world.

"Doc's not here, Carl," Ham said.

"Still mourning his father huh?" Denham said. "I heard about the death of the elder Doctor Savage. Some tropical disease wasn't it? What a tough break."

"Actually, the elder Savage's demise was directly attributable to human intentionality," Johnny said.

"You mean he was _murdered_?" Denham asked with a glint in his eye.

Ham and Monk both gave Johnny a hard look. Johnny shrugged.

"Actually," Monk said. "Doc's not here because he's working on some projects with Renny and Long Tom."

Renny, the former Colonel John Renwick, and Long Tom, the former Major Thomas Roberts, were Doc Savage's other two aides, and also former members of Ham's think tank. Renny was a brilliant civil engineer, and Long Tom was an equally brilliant electrical engineer.

Carl Denham's attention, however, was no longer focused on the three friends.

"Mr. Mayor!" Carl called. "So good to see you!"

And just like that, Carl Denham was gone, gravitating as he always did to the most influential person he could find.

"Geez, Johnny!" Monk said with a squeak. "A movie producer like Carl Denham is the _last_ person you'd want to spill the beans to about Doc's dad being murdered. Doc wanted that kept under wraps."

Johnny blushed.

"I'm sorry," he said, using short words for once. "I didn't think anyone but you fellows would understand me."

"Don't underestimate Carl Denham," Ham said. "He may look like a self involved movie producer, and he is, but he's no dummy, and he's got more guts than anyone I've ever met, Doc, Renny, Long Tom, and present company excluded."

"Don't forget Pat," Monk said.

"How could I forget Pat?" Ham replied. Marilyn sniffed and jerked her head away from Ham.

Ham offered his arm back to Marilyn, who pointedly ignored it.

"Let's go find our seats," Monk suggested.

With that, Monk, Ham, Johnny, and Marilyn followed the crowd into the theater.

…

The theater was sold out, filled with New York's wealthiest, most famous, and indeed most infamous citizens. Johnny noticed a couple of organized crime figures who were on Doc's short list to be watched. He also thought he saw Greta Garbo, Robert Armstrong, and Charlie Chaplin in the audience.

Monk, Ham, Marilyn, and Johnny were all seated in the center section of the theater, about 7 rows from the front. Monk, because of his patents, was the wealthiest among them and had bought the tickets, although it was Ham's connections with the rich and powerful in and out of city hall that had secured preferential seating so close to the stage.

The crowd was buzzing with excitement. Everyone had heard the story. The Venture, a small freighter that specialized in the transport of live animals, had been hired by Carl Denham to go to Skull Island, a "legendary" island in the East Indian Ocean west of Indonesia that somehow no one had ever heard of before (although Doc had raised an eyebrow when he heard the name "Skull Island"). The famous movie star Bruce Baxter, the famous playwright Jack Driscoll, and an obscure vaudeville actress named Ann Darrow all accompanied Carl Denham, his film crew, and the crew of the Venture on the voyage to Skull Island. On Skull Island, the crew of the Venture encountered hostile natives, a giant gorilla much larger than any heretofore seen, and living _dinosaurs_. The crew of the Venture, after great hardship, succeeded in capturing the giant gorilla by taking advantage of his attraction to Miss Darrow. The tale of a lost island inhabited by dinosaurs and of a giant gorilla attracted to a vaudeville actress was difficult for Monk, Ham, and Johnny to swallow. However, it was an undeniable fact that 17 of the men who went on that voyage, 15 crew members and 2 members of Denham's film crew, did not return.

According to Crystal Evans, Ann Darrow refused to appear with the giant gorilla, who Denham called "King Kong", because she was so traumatized by the events leading up to his capture. So, Crystal had been hired to substitute for Ann Darrow in Denham's show. Crystal had told Monk that the gorilla was indeed huge. "Bigger than a house" was the way she put it. Skeptical, Monk had repeated Crystal's description of King Kong to Doc and Johnny, but evidently not to Ham. Monk was surprised to find that Johnny and Doc were open to the idea of a giant gorilla. The two men told Monk that a form of gigantism was known to occur every few generations among the mountain gorillas who lived in and around the ancient, advanced, and highly secretive nation of the Wakanda. Doc and Johnny were among the very few outsiders who had ever been to that mysterious land. For the most part, they didn't talk about their experiences in the Wakanda even with their other friends, because both men had taken an oath of secrecy.

However, while Johnny was prepared to accept the possibility that Denham had brought back a giant gorilla, he was _very_ skeptical about the existence of a place called Skull Island where dinosaurs walked the Earth. Of course, in describing his skepticism to his friends he had used much longer words.

The orchestra started to play, and to the polite but enthusiastic applause of the crowd, Carl Denham walked on stage in front of closed curtains, behind which presumably hid the great King Kong. Denham acknowledged the crowd, and as the orchestra stopped playing, he started to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you a very strange story: The story of our adventure, in which 17 of our party suffered horrible deaths. Their lives lost, in pursuit of a _savage _beast. A _monstrous aberration_ of nature! But even the meanest brute can be tamed. Yes ladies and gentlemen, as you will see, the beast was no match…for the charms of a girl. A girl from _**New York**_!"

As the crowd applauded the home town reference, Johnny thought about why he instinctively disliked Denham. He thought the producer was a flamboyant if charming liar, and he had difficulty understanding what Ham or Monk saw in him.

For most of his young life, Johnny accompanied his father as he went on archeological expeditions. It was on one of those expeditions that he met the Savages. He and Doc (then known as "Junior") would climb over and play on ruins both in Central America and Africa while their fathers would supervise the digging. Later, his father was asked to accompany the elder Savage to the Wakanda, an incredible privilege because the Wakandans generally did not allow outsiders into their country. There, Johnny and Doc became playmates to the princes and princesses of the Wakanda. In the Wakanda, Johnny learned something that Doc's other aides still didn't know, that the model for the way Doc was raised was based on the childrearing practices of the Wakandan royal family. Among Doc and the Wakandan children, Johnny felt at home. But all too soon, Johnny left the Wakanda and the Savage family and went with his father to excavate ruins in Peru. There, his father was killed in an accidental cave-in, and Johnny was sent to be raised by his maternal grandparents, who enrolled him in an exclusive private high school. Denham reminded him of the small minded, big talking rich boy bullies who incessantly taunted the freakishly tall, odd looking gaunt boy with the sun darkened skin. As a result of his awful high school years, Johnny had withdrawn deep within himself, and it was only after completing his doctorates in both archeology and paleontology that he started to loosen up again, and then only after Doc had recruited him into his group. For the first time since his visit to the Wakanda, Johnny had found a group of people he was comfortable with.

Denham continued his drama laden speech.

"…He was a_ king_ in the world he knew. But he comes to you now a _captive_. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…_**Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World**_!"

The curtain started to go up. The crowd as one leaned forward in interest. Johnny found himself leaning forward as well. He had seen a skeleton of a giant gorilla, one that in life was probably close to the size of an adult female elephant. He wondered if that was what he would see now.

The curtain continued to go up. Johnny saw the feet, then the colossal and thick legs, then the scarred and extremely massive chest. William Harper Littlejohn, for the first time in his remarkable life, was truly at a complete loss for words. At first he thought Denham must have been pulling off an incredibly audacious cheat, a remarkable sculpture. But then he saw the creature breathing, and he smelled the undeniably pungent odor characteristic of a living gorilla.

Johnny shook his head. What he was seeing was impossible. The creature before him should not have been able to grow so large without the body's size outstripping the heart and lung's ability to keep it alive. The giant gorillas that occasionally appeared in the mountains in and around the Wakanda typically did not live past 12 or 13 because of the strain caused by their excessive size and weight, but this creature was plainly older, _much _older. A full adult male, and not even a young adult male.

But even the giant gorillas of the Wakanda were less than a third of the size of the incredible living beast on stage. Kong, who was clearly drugged, was seated, and _seated_ was easily 20 feet tall. Johnny estimated that Kong had the mass of at least _two_ large bull elephants, and as his trained eye continued to observe Kong, he could see adaptations to the great size, an enormous chest which undoubtedly contained a huge heart and gigantic lungs, and massive arms and legs with extremely powerful muscles and bones to support the beast's great weight. Johnny estimated that Kong may have weighed as much as 10 to 12 tons. He actually seemed a little _thin_, which wasn't surprising since the creature was almost certainly sedated during his voyage. In fact, Johnny was more convinced than ever that the creature could not have come all the way from an island in the Indian Ocean. The crew of the Venture would not have been able to simultaneously keep him sedated _and_ fed and hydrated for such a long voyage.

But where _did_ he come from then? Johnny couldn't imagine, because the most disturbing observation of all came from looking at the scars on Kong's chest, arms, and face. The scars were made by teeth, probably reptilian. The teeth were pointed and spear like, so the creatures that created the wounds were probably adapted to eating smaller prey than Kong. Thus, Johnny suspected that the wounds were sustained protecting smaller creatures, perhaps infants and juveniles, even females of the species. Nevertheless, some of the wounds came from animals that were probably even _larger_ than Kong, and the only predatory land animals known to have been that large were predatory dinosaurs, although most of the larger dinosaurian predators had steak knife teeth instead of the spear like teeth that made the wounds on Kong.

Johnny shook his head again. Nothing, but nothing, made sense. An anthropoid primate that large should not have existed, and Johnny could not think how there could possibly be a place that was sufficiently close to New York to allow for the live transport of a creature the size of Kong by boat while being so remote as to be practically undiscovered. Furthermore, generally only _continents _were large enough to support giant fauna. Where did Denham _find _his beast?

….

_Kong was dimly aware of being pulled upright. At first, after his capture, he assumed he must have been dead, his dream spirit transported to a hellish dream world, where the air was heavy and almost impossible to breathe. A world where his limbs felt as if they were made out of stone, too heavy to lift. A world that __**tasted **__wrong. _

_Eventually however, even as he alternated between complete unconsciousness and half consciousness, Kong realized that he was still alive, and a captive of the tiny tufted hairless apes that were so much like those that had taken the lives of his remaining family. However, Kong didn't seem to be able to work up the energy to worry about his captivity, much less resist it. Besides, even in his drug addled state he realized that he was on one of their ocean skimming craft, and that unlike the little tufted apes, he could not swim. _

_Then one day, he half awoke to find that the last scents of familiarity, the smell of old wood and excrement, the perfumed smell of the little golden headed ape, and the smell of the ocean, were now gone. His arms were bound to some sort of frame, almost like the limbs of the little female tufted apes were bound when they were offered to him. _

_He became aware of that there was a crowd of little tufted apes in front of him, and there were still others closer to him, dancing, darker skinned like the little apes from his homeland. One of the paler skinned little apes was also dancing in front of him, and Kong dimly realized that he was looking at a reenactment. Such primitive creatures!_

_Then, __**she**__ appeared, bound as she had been when he had first seen her. He felt anger. It was such a waste. Back home, the little tufted apes behind the wall continued to offer him their young females, even though the reason for the tradition evidently had been forgotten by them, and was certainly no longer relevant. He'd done his best to protect the frightened little creatures, who were the only companionship he'd had left, but they were so helpless in their fear, and all too quickly one of the land's many dangers would claim them. Then, the little yellow headed ape was offered to him. A creature that actually stood up to him, then later laughed with him, and finally tried to talk to him in her peculiar sound segmenting language as if they were companions! And now her fellow little apes had imprisoned her as well, "offering" her to him again in a mockery of the original ritual, useless though it had become. He started to wake, the effects of the anesthetics chased away by adrenaline. He tried to talk to her, reassure her, all the while knowing that she couldn't understand. This was outrageous. This was cruel! They were mocking him, and __**her**__!_

_Then she raised her head, and screamed._

_It __**wasn't**__ her, and Kong knew that the mockery was complete. _

_Kong finally had enough. He roared. The bindings were strong, but even in his weakened state, in this heavy world, he knew they were not enough to hold him._

…

The crowd started to get restive as Kong started to show more signs of life, and then started to roar. Monk looked at Johnny, who looked back at him. They were thinking the same thing. Not even chains of "chrome steel" would be enough to contain so gigantic a primate, one who had the strength to support his own weight.

Monk leaned over to his best friend.

"_Ham_," he said softly.

Ham looked back at him, startled. Monk and Ham never spoke to one another by name except in the gravest emergencies. It was, in fact, their unofficial signal that there was great danger.

"Take your floozy and get out of here," Monk said. "Call Doc. Describe Kong to him, in _detail_. We're gonna have a situation, and based on the look on his face, it's going to be sooner than later.

"_**Floozy**_?" Marilyn said. "Are you gonna let him call me that?"

"Let's go," Ham replied.

"But I wanna see the big monkey!" Marilyn said.

"_Now_, Marilyn!" Ham said as he stood up, dragging Marilyn to her feet with him. Monk was standing up as well, and already making his way to the aisle.

"Hey, siddown!"

"Down in front!"

"What're you boys, _scared_?"

""Hey look at that guy! He's probably the monkey's shrimp uncle!"

Monk ignored the comments as he reached the aisle. Denham had now invited photographers to take pictures of him and Baxter standing in front of the giant ape. Monk ran to the stage, vaulting onto it as if he really did have the agility of an ape. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ham in the aisle, giving Marilyn over to one of the ushers while urgently talking to another one of them. He would be identifying himself as an associate of Doc's, and Monk knew that would make the ushers take notice.

Monk ran over to Crystal.

"_**Monk, get me out of here**_!" she screamed, in obvious terror. "I think he's starting to break the chains!"

Indeed, Kong was clearly enraged by the flash bulbs popping in his face. However, Monk realized in the pit of his stomach, with growing dread, that the giant ape had first begun to show anger when he'd gotten a good look at Crystal. Incredibly, it seemed that there might be something to Denham's story of Kong's bond with Ann Darrow, and the great ape seemed to be less than pleased to find Crystal in her stead.

"_**CARL**_!" Monk roared with such force that he could be heard in the back row, even though he was in competition with the roaring Kong, the popping flash bulbs, and the growing uneasy murmur among the crowd in the theater. "_**Tell the photographers to knock off the pictures**_! _**NOW**_!"

Denham looked at Monk.

"Monk, what are you _doing_ here?" he said. "It's _OK_. _Let_ him roar! That's all he can do, believe me."

"_Forget that, let me __**out**__ of here_!" Crystal yelled to Monk even as he got her left wrist untied. "_**Oh God**_! _**PLEASE**_!"

Coincidentally, at the same time Kong's right wrist broke free of its restraining chain. His left wrist immediately followed suit, and Kong was completely free.

After that was bedlam. The crowd panicked, running for the aisles in a blind dash to the exits. Kong reached out and quickly grabbed Crystal, knocking Monk off of the stage. Laying on his back, the wind knocked out of him, Monk watched helplessly as Kong looked at Crystal screaming in the palm of his right hand. Then, he carelessly tossed her aside. While the toss was almost gentle, Crystal flew a distance of easily forty feet, and fell thirty feet more. The crunch was sickening.

Then, Kong did something that Monk would have thought impossible. He _**leaped **_over him. Monk heard Kong land in the seats behind him. There was a brief scream, rapidly cut off, that told him that Kong had probably crushed someone underfoot when he landed. Monk forced himself to his feet, his whole body aching and still extremely short of breath. Kong was raking his hands along the rows of chairs, uprooting them. Monk noticed that he wasn't actually attacking any people, although they were easily in his reach.

Familiar strong hands grabbed Monk's shoulders and held him steady.

"Johnny, that…" Monk said.

"That's impossible," Johnny said. "What we are watching is physically _impossible_."

"No it's not," Monk said. "Danner! Remember Danner!"

Monk knew Johnny would remember the late Hugo Danner, a handsome man of medium height who, thanks to his father's alkaline radical formula, was by far the strongest man who ever lived. A man of such monstrous strength he was literally bullet proof.

"You think that Abenego Danner's formula was somehow applied to a _gorilla_?" Johnny said incredulously.

"No, but such a chemical combination could occur naturally, it does in certain insec…" Monk stopped. Kong had gone very quiet. He was looking intently up at the balcony. Monk looked up, and saw a man in a suit and trench coat. He looked familiar, but he was too distant for Monk to positively identify him. The man started to back away, then run. Kong roared, then leaped to the side wall of the theater and grabbed a corner. Incredibly, Kong hung for a moment on the side of the theater before dropping onto the balcony. The balcony could not completely hold his weight and started to collapse, but Kong struggled up and forward anyway, nearly catching the man. However, the man made it through the nearest exit door. Kong roared at the door and tried to push his hand through the doorway, but gave up after a few seconds. Kong then gathered himself up and leaped, his arms covering his head. He smashed through plaster and brick and dropped through the hole he'd made onto the street below. Monk heard the metal of the theater's marquee groan underneath the giant gorilla's immense weight.

"Holeee," Monk said as he looked at the immense hole in the rear of the theater. He could hear Kong roaring, people screaming, and brakes squealing. "I sure hope that fellow got away. The big ape had murder in his eye."

Upon saying the word "murder", with a horrific start Monk remembered Crystal. He turned and ran to her crumpled body, but the awkward angles of her bloodied limbs and head left no question that she was dead. Denham was standing silently over her. He was clearly in shock. Monk looked at the pathetic remains of the pretty and sweet young woman he had just been getting to know, and felt a blinding rage strike him. He stepped up to Denham, grabbed his coat collar with his left hand, and pulled back his massive right fist.

Denham simply looked at him. Denham was tough, extremely tough. He was one of the few people in the world who could realistically have a chance to win a scrap with Monk, but he made no attempt to struggle or fight back.

"Go ahead, Monk," Denham said. "Kill me."

Monk let Denham go with disgust.

"What the _Hell's_ _**wrong**_ with you, Carl?" Monk yelled, his voice deepened by grief.

"Actually, I think there are several other questions Mr. Denham needs to answer first," said Johnny. "First and foremost, who is that man Kong is after, and _**why**_ is he after him?"

…..

Doctor Clark Savage Junior was in his office on the 86th floor of the world's tallest skyscraper. Standing next to him was John Renwick, or "Renny". Both men were of about the same height, approximately 6 foot 8 inches, and the same weight, around 260 pounds. However, from a distance Doc had the proportions of a very muscular but otherwise normal sized man. Renny, on the other hand, with his long face and huge hands, looked abnormally big no matter how distant he was. Renny was an extremely strong man. He had the eccentric hobby of slamming his fists through oak panels. But his strength was like that of a child in comparison to Doc.

They were looking at the plans for a bridge that was proposed to be built over a section of the Caspian Sea. Renny was in charge of the structural design, and Doc was assisting him. The bridge would allow for needed supplies to go to a group of desperately poor villagers.

The blue phone rang. The blue phone was Doc's private line, known only to his aides, his cousin Pat, and a few others to whom he was very close, and was only used in emergencies. Doc picked up the phone.

"Doc, this is Ham!" said Ham unnecessarily. "I'm calling from the front of the Alhambra. We've seen Kong and…"

Doc could hear screaming in the background, then a terrific crash and what sounded like a loud roar.

"Oh God," Ham said. "He's _out,_ Doc! He's out and he's _huge_. Twenty, maybe twenty five feet tall when he is walking on his _knuckles._ He just, he just smashed through the front brick wall of the theater and he is tossing around cars like they were match toys."

"Ham," said Doc. "Do you need get off the phone and get to safety?"

"I'm kind of out of the way over to the side, Doc," Ham said, sounding a little calmer even as the chaotic background noise continued. "He's really _huge, _Doc, even bigger than Denham said he was. He broke free and he's, it looks like he's picking up women…blonds…looking at them…and dropping them on snow banks."

Doc's office was filled with an odd sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Doc was trilling, something he did without even being aware of it when he was amazed or fascinated. At this moment, he was both.

"Ham, how is he moving?" Doc asked. "Is he slow, ponderous?"

"No," Ham said. "He's agile, and quick. How can something that big move that fast? I hope Monk and Johnny are OK. I left them inside the theater to call you."

"I'm sure they are," Doc said as he mentally cursed himself for not attending Denham's show. He felt an excitement like he'd never felt before. Ham's description of Kong was the possible confirmation of a personal theory that was so wild, so incredible that he never dared tell anyone, even his own aides, about it.

"Ham, tell me about Kong's head," Doc said.

"His _head_?" Ham asked.

"Yes, his head," Doc said. "Is it proportional to the rest of his body, or does it seem small?"

"Believe me," Ham replied. "His head is as big as the rest of him."

"All right, Ham,_ listen_ to me very closely, here's what I want you to do…" Doc said as the emotions of excitement, concern, and even fear all built within him. However, his voice remained as calm and modulated as ever as he relayed his instructions to Ham.

"One last thing, have Johnny call me as soon as you see him," Doc said. "He's a more trained observer in this situation."

"You got it, Doc," Ham said. Then he hung up.

"Doc, what the Hell?" Renny asked as Doc hung up the blue phone and picked up the receiver to another phone, this one red. "Did I hear what I _**thought**_ I…"

"_Later,_ Renny," Doc said as he dialed a familiar number. "I need you to call Long Tom. I have an extremely important errand for him. Excuse me, Renny. Hello Mr. President. You will probably be hearing about a situation in New York…you've already heard? Yes, it's a crisis, and I agree that you should call in the military.

"Sir, you told me not too long ago that if I ever needed a favor from you, to ask it. I need to ask for it now. I need you to do something for me, and I'm going to ask you for a great deal of faith…_yes_ sir, I appreciate that, but believe me when I tell you that in this situation, you _will_ be hesitant to trust me. But I ask for that trust nevertheless."

Doc then started to make his request known to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The President protested several times that the risks were too big but in the end, to his credit, he said he would do as Doc requested.

"But, young man," President Roosevelt said. "Believe me when I say that if you _fail_ in this, the city and state of New York, and quite possibly the entire nation, will want to draw and quarter us both."

Next Chapter, A Giant Pursued!

Note: For this story, there is likely to be a lot of time between updates. I suspect this will be the longest fan fiction that I am ever likely to write.


	2. Chapter 2 A Giant Pursued!

**Notes: Just a brief little comment about the cameo appearance by a character named Dr. Elizabeth Saint John, who meets with Captain Englehorn in this chapter. Dr. Saint John is an original character I actually wrote a couple of stories for (and imagined a whole lot more) back in my undergraduate college days (that's, uhm, 28 years ago) and was inspired by a chapter in Frank Edwards' book **_**Stranger than Science**_** entitled "High Voltage Humans". I actually have built up a whole history of this character in my head, including interrelationships with most of the superhero set from the late 19****th**** and early 20****th**** centuries. Recently, in the television series Angel, a modern day character was introduced whose abilities and problems are strikingly similar to Dr. Saint John's. The resemblance between the characters is **_**entirely **_**coincidental. Dr. Saint John is entirely my own character, and even though she's never seen publication, I am pretty proud of her. **

**Also, this chapter reveals the identity of the leader of the pilots who flew against Kong. It wasn't my idea, a pastiche biographer by the name of Jim Harmon came up with this theory, and I really liked it. **

**With that in mind, here we go.**

Chapter 2 A Giant Pursued!

A cold breeze was blowing into the Alhambra Theater through the colossal hole Kong had torn in it. From the street, the sounds of Kong roaring, people screaming, and brakes screeching could be heard. Johnny tried to put it out of his mind while, using uncharacteristically short words, he repeated his question.

"Mr. Denham, who is the man Kong chased out of the theater?"

Denham was clearly in shock. He was looking down at Crystal Evans' shattered body.

"What have I done?" he whispered.

"A very reckless thing," Monk said. "Answer Johnny's question."

Denham blinked and looked up at Johnny.

"I'm sorry, what?" he said.

Johnny repeated his question a third time.

"I don't know…" Denham said. "I didn't see…I thought he'd be angriest at me. I'm the one who threw chloroform in his face."

"It was a tall guy, dark hair," Monk said. "He was standing alone on the balcony after everyone else had cleared out."

"I don't…" then Denham's eyes showed some of his old resolve. "Wait. Driscoll, it had to be _Jack Driscoll_."

"That's _it_," Monk said. "I _knew_ he looked familiar. I saw the premiere of _Ladies and Gentlemen, Dames and Mugs_.

"Why would Kong go after him?"

"He's the one who actually rescued Ann from Kong," Denham said.

"Well, I knew it wasn't _Baxter_," Monk said.

"Baxter _did_ help," Denham said. "But it was Driscoll who actually pulled Ann away."

Denham shook his head ruefully.

"We all could have gotten away and left Kong behind, but I thought I had to _salvage _something," he said. "All those men…but now if Jack dies, all these people, this poor girl…"

"Her name was Crystal," Monk said. Johnny saw there were tears on his friend's cheeks.

"Monk," Johnny said. "You stay here with Denham and get more out of him. I'm going to see if I can locate this Driscoll fellow, get him out of the way if he is still alive."

Johnny then turned on his heel and ran up the nearest aisle before Monk could even protest. Running through the lobby and out the door, he ran into chaos. People were screaming and running, but most of the theater patrons were long gone. The few who were left looked to be injured or maybe even dead, not by Kong's hand but by panicked trampling. Johnny then realized his mistake. True, Monk knew Denham better than he did, but he also was more likely to be able to recognize Driscoll. Kong, meanwhile, was still there. He was picking up another blond woman. He looked at her then tossed her away, but this time Johnny noticed the toss was gentler, and into the nearest pile of snow dozed aside by the city of New York. The girl slid off the pile, and then limped away. Kong ran over to another young blond woman and picked her up, but this time put her down gently before backing away. All around were cars, some of them lying on their sides and one was even upside down. Kong was now backing away, clearly disoriented, frightened and angry. Then he backed into a trolley. He turned, and then started to beat on it with his fists.

Johnny watched in horror, trying to figure out what to do. He could hear the people screaming inside the trolley. He looked around for a police officer, someone who might be able to distract the beast with gunshots. As quickly as Kong moved with his mass, and with the strength he was showing, he was unlikely to be affected much by small arms fire. The density of his muscles had to be unbelievable.

Johnny was dimly aware of one well dressed man getting into a cab. Sensible, he thought. Maybe that was Driscoll getting away. Johnny started to run for the nearest deserted car. Maybe if he could drive a car into one of Kong's legs, he might be able to distract the beast and get him away from the trolley.

"It's all yours, buddy," Johnny heard someone say, then he saw the taxi driver get out of the cab and run off. The well dressed man climbed into the driver's seat and drove _towards _Kong. This man evidently had the same idea.

However, the cab went _between _Kong's legs, and skidded around to a complete stop. The man didn't get out of the cab. Kong hit the trolley a couple of more times half heartedly, but he was clearly distracted by the cab. Then he looked at the cab and its driver, and even before Kong dropped the trolley and roared, elbowing the trolley aside, Johnny knew what Kong knew. The driver of the cab was none other than Jack Driscoll.

Kong ran after the cab, and Driscoll backed the cab up. Other cars in the midst of trying to turn around were jumbled together, and Kong knocked a couple of them aside. Driscoll, evidently an experienced New York driver, maneuvered the cab between the cars in reverse, and then turned around and drove away. Kong moved with incredible speed, his size and agility allowing him to leap over many stalled cars and vehicles, and his strength allowing him to shove others aside. Driscoll turned the cab and moved out of sight, and Kong quickly followed. Johnny could still hear Kong's angry roars.

Johnny looked around. There were people who clearly needed medical help all around him. He could stay and try to help, but there were others already doing that, and Johnny was sure that the police, fire department, and probably even the Army National Guard would soon arrive. Johnny began to run down the street, using his own incredibly long legs to build up speed. Johnny looked painfully thin and fragile, but he was actually very strong and wiry, and his endurance was greater than anyone he knew except for Doc himself.

As he ran off, he didn't notice his friend Ham running behind him, calling his name. The dapper lawyer tried to run after his friend, but although he was in relatively good shape himself, he did not have his friend's speed, and thanks to the cigarettes he smoked, he didn't have his friend's endurance either.

* * *

Major Thomas LaSalle of the New York National Guard cursed when he saw the chaos in front of the Alhambra Theater. Firefighters and cops were all around, carrying people into ambulances. These were the most ambulances he'd seen since the Great War, where he served as an artillery captain. The driver stopped the car and looked to LaSalle for directions. Between the police cars, the ambulances, the fire trucks and the wrecked cars, out of which were being fished wounded or dead, there was no easy passage. LaSalle was a tough, battle hardened man. He had been very surprised when he had been called to mobilize in response to an escaped gorilla. But now, looking at the hole in the theater, and the damage all around him, he was wondering what he'd gotten himself into. Some of his men were undoubtedly needed here, but there was also the matter of the giant gorilla. Behind him were some trucks carrying heavy artillery. He wondered why on earth he would need it, but looking at the damage here, he now understood.

LaSalle opened his mouth to bark an order when a police officer tapped his window. LaSalle rolled down his window.

"Major LaSalle?" the officer inquired.

"Yes," LaSalle answered. "What is it?"

"We have a command center in the cafeteria," the officer said, pointing to an undamaged storefront across the street and down a little ways from the theater. "There's an important phone call for you there."

"Young man, we have a monster to catch," LaSalle said. "I don't have time for…"

"You need to take this one, sir," the officer said. "My captain told me to escort you to the command center so that you could take it."

"Son of a…" LaSalle said as he turned to his driver. "Stay here."

La Salle then got out and followed the police officer to the cafeteria. Inside the cafeteria, all patrons had been cleared out. He saw police captains, fire chiefs, and various police officers. He also saw Mayor O'Brien and Governor Lehman, dressed in tuxedos and both looking rather shell shocked. Standing next to them were three other men in tuxedos, one a handsome man who LaSalle immediately identified as a dandy, a short man who looked like an ape, and another man, short (although not as short as the ape-like man) and slightly overweight. As LaSalle got closer, he saw that the last man was in handcuffs.

The dandy was holding a phone out to him as he approached.

"Major LaSalle," the governor said. "This phone call is for you."

The governor didn't sound very happy about it.

"Major LaSalle?" a voice said on the other end of the line. LaSalle recognized the voice immediately from the radio.

"Yes, Mr. President," he said.

"The man who just handed you the phone is Brigadier General Theodore M. Brooks," the president said. "I have just put him in command. You are to follow his orders, and in his absence follow the orders of the man with him, Lieutenant Colonel Mayfair. Am I clear in this?"

"Yes, sir," LaSalle said. He looked at the dandy. He didn't look like an officer at first, at least not the kind who did anything worthwhile, but then he noticed the way that Brooks looked him in the eye, unafraid, and he realized there must be an unexpected layer of steel in the man.

"Good luck, Major," the president said. "Please hand the phone back to General Brooks."

"Yes, sir," LaSalle said.

Brooks listened on the phone.

"Yes, sir," Brooks said. "I won't fail you."

Suddenly, LaSalle realized who these men were. They were associates of the legendary Man of Bronze himself, Doc Savage! Suddenly, LaSalle felt much better. Doc Savage himself must have been brought in on this situation! These men were two of his closest associates, and he recalled hearing after the war how invaluable their contributions were, not only behind the scenes in their secretive think tank, but also on a secret mission behind enemy lines in a German prison camp and facility called "Loki". Unexpected layer of steel indeed!

Brooks hung up the phone and turned to LaSalle.

"How many men?" he asked.

"Two hundred, but we are still mustering," LaSalle said. "There will soon be more."

"Good," Brooks said. "Leave about twenty here to help with clean up. As more of your men arrive, we'll put them to work here. Lt. Col. Mayfair will take command here."

"Hey!" Mayfair said. "Leave the _Major_ here, shyster! _I_ wanna go after the ape!"

"No, you're staying here, you not-so-big stupid ape." Brooks replied. "The men who go after the gorilla will do better if a familiar face is giving them orders."

Mayfair wandered off, muttering.

"Stupid army, what were they thinking giving the _shyster_ a higher rank than me?"

LaSalle gaped at the exchange, and Mayfair's clear disregard for the chain of command.

"Begging your pardon, General, but…" LaSalle started to say.

"Never mind him," Brooks said. "You have your orders, Major."

"_Yes,_ sir," LaSalle said with a salute.

La Salle went to outside to divide his men.

* * *

In Brooklyn, there was a bar named The Rusty Nail. It was simply a hole in the wall sailor's bar, and inside looked as disreputable as a place named The Rusty Nail should look. However, the place was actually quite clean, and the family who ran the bar had a couple of large sons who were able to keep drunken brawls and other misbehavior to a minimum. More importantly, the bar kept some fine dark German beers, and that brought Josef Englehorn, captain of the cargo ship Venture, through its doors whenever he docked in New York.

Englehorn was looking at his beer, half drunk. It had not been a good week since their arrival. The first two days had been on the phone, talking to the families of the sailors who had lost their lives on (what was it Denham was calling it?) "Skull Island". The call to First Mate Joshua Hayes' family in Junction City, Kansas had been the worst. Hayes was not only the best First Mate a man could ask for, he had been Englehorn's right hand man and best friend. Although Englehorn had never met Hayes' family, much less talked to them, he felt as if he knew them from everything Hayes had told him about them. And evidently, Hayes had kept in regular touch with them as well, because the first thing Hayes' little sister, Sara Hayes Wilson, had asked Englehorn upon taking the phone away from her distraught father was if the boy Jimmy was all right. She seemed genuinely touched when Englehorn answered that Jimmy wanted to ask the family if it was all right if he changed his legal name to _James P. Hayes_.

_Something else you left me with, old friend. Caring for a half crazy boy child. _

The young man who now introduced himself as Jimmy Hayes sat next to Englehorn at the bar. Since the young man was too young to legally drink, he sat nursing the same Coca-Cola he had first ordered two hours ago. Mr. Hayes, a graduate of Howard University, had been the closest thing to a father the boy had had. Englehorn didn't know the boy's history, but it must have been grim because Hayes himself was reluctant to tell Englehorn about it, and they had talked about everything together.

"To Mister Hayes," Englehorn said suddenly, raising up his fourth glass of dark German beer and hoping he didn't slur his words.

"To Mister Hayes," Jimmy repeated, raising his by now lukewarm and flat Coke.

The two men drank together.

"So what do we do now, Captain?" Jimmy asked.

"Tomorrow, I start interviewing new crew members, and by the time our remaining men come in from leave, we'll be sailing for South America, and then Singapore. There are some people there interested in capuchin monkeys."

Jimmy made a face. Capuchin monkeys were a disagreeable sort, particularly on long ocean voyages.

"At least we have some money," Jimmy said.

Indeed. Denham at least had been true to his word to share the profits from exhibiting Kong with all of them. After expenses, fully 70 percent of the gate from the first Kong exhibition had gone to his surviving crew, and the families of the crew who didn't survive. Englehorn knew that Denham only kept 5 percent of the profit for himself, and the other 25 percent went to his film crew or their families, including Driscoll and Ann Darrow. Englehorn had heard that Ann Darrow, upon receiving Denham's check, had torn it up and thrown it in his face. She was odd, that woman. She would have spent all of her time in the hold with Kong if Englehorn had let her. As it was, he allowed her to visit the giant gorilla once a day for five minutes. The crew all gave Miss Darrow the cold shoulder on the return trip. Their crewmates had been killed trying to save her from the giant gorilla, yet in spite of the fact she was quite genuinely grateful, she seemed more concerned about the ape than the men who had rescued her from him, even Driscoll.

"Hey," someone said. "Turn up the radio."

"_**Flash**__! King Kong has __**escaped**__! I repeat, Carl Denham's giant, and I mean __**giant**__, gorilla has escaped and is now at large! The Mayor and Governor have placed Manhattan under a curfew. No one is to be on the streets as the Guard and the police chase the savage beast, which is tearing a path of carnage through the city streets! More as we get details. I __**repeat**__! King Kong has escaped! The Mayor requests that all civilians stay indoors as…"_

Englehorn immediate felt his four beers, as well as the previous lunch, try to claw their way back up his throat and into his mouth. The damage that big ape could do, undoubtedly _was _doing, was too much to think of. If Englehorn had had his gun with him, he would have been eating it right then and there. Jimmy looked at him with his eyes wide.

"What does this mean, Captain?" Jimmy asked Englehorn.

"It means we're ruined," Englehorn said.

Englehorn felt all eyes on the bar fall upon him. The bar was now silent in response to the radio announcement, and his conversation with Jimmy had been heard by everyone in the bar. The men sitting around the bar, the two waitresses, and the bartender all turned and directed unfriendly looks at Englehorn and Jimmy.

"Wait a minute," said one of the sailors sitting at the table behind them. "Are _you_ two of the fellows who brought that big…?"

"Excuse me, gentlemen," a new voice said.

Englehorn turned. Everyone turned. A tall woman, her blond hair cut in a fashionable pageboy around her face, walked through the front door. She was maybe 40 years old, but extremely lovely for all of that. Especially striking were her extremely bright blue eyes, which actually seemed to glow from an inner light. The angry muttering in the bar immediately died down, and everyone was quiet. The tall woman approached Englehorn, and he immediately knew who she must be. If he was right, she was actually much older than she appeared.

"Captain, that's _**her**_!" Jimmy said, his voice excited. "That's Doctor Saint John!"

Some of the men at the bar cleared their throats nervously, but one man, clearly a little more drunk than the rest, staggered to his feet. He was a big man with black hair and an unshaved chin. He staggered towards the woman and started to make kissing noises.

"Who're you, sugar?" he asked, his slurred accent revealing that he had come from the American south.

"Dalton, you damn fool!" one of the men from his table hissed. "Don't you know who that is? Come back over here and sit down before you make her mad!"

It was too late. Doctor Saint John turned and looked at Dalton, who wasn't heeding his comrade's request anyway.

"Sit down, Mr. Dalton," she said, calmly but assertively.

"Not until you give me a kiss," Dalton said.

In spite of the horrible, career ending news Englehorn had just heard, he found himself genuinely interested in the tableau taking place before him. Englehorn wanted to hit someone, but Denham wasn't there. Watching some drunken fool get his clock cleaned by a legend was better than nothing, under the circumstances.

But Englehorn was destined to be disappointed.

"Mr. Dalton," Dr. Saint John said. "If you don't sit down I'll be forced to cradle your face between my hands."

"Tha' sounds good, sugar," Dalton says. "_Hold_ my face and gimme a kiss."

"Are you _sure_?" Dr. Saint John asked.

"Yeah, sugar," Dalton said. He was almost upon Dr. Saint John now.

Dr. Saint John held up her hands, just at the right width to take hold of Dalton's face. Then, suddenly, blue sparks flashed between her hands. The sparks were so bright that Englehorn and the others watching had to turn their heads. Dalton fell back on the floor on his butt, covering his face and whimpering. A moment later, Englehorn smelled ozone.

"Are you _completely_ sure?" Dr. Saint John said immediately after ending her pyrotechnic display.

Dalton got up and staggered as quickly as he could out the door. Dr. Saint John looked at the other men who were at his table.

"Don't forget to settle his tab," she said.

The men all threw money on the table and got up and hastily left. Dr. Saint John nodded to herself then looked around.

"I'm looking for a Captain Josef Englehorn," she said.

Before the bartender could point him out, Englehorn raised his right hand. This couldn't be good, but he might as well face the music.

"Captain Englehorn?" Dr. Saint John asked.

Englehorn nodded.

"Yes," he said. Then he turned and indicated Jimmy. "And this is my crewman, Mr. Hayes."

Jimmy looked at Englehorn, his eyes wide.

"Pleased, and _relieved_, to meet you both," Doctor Saint John said. "I was afraid you might have been one of the men with that lout, Dalton."

Dr. Saint John then pointed to the table recently vacated by Dalton and his colleagues.

"Shall we?" she said. Englehorn and Jimmy stood up and followed her to the table.

"So, are you here to arrest us?" Englehorn asked as they sat down.

Doctor Saint John's very bright blue eyes went wide.

"Captain, I am a Doctor, not a law enforcement officer," she said.

"I hear you're a little something of both," Englehorn said.

"No," Doctor Saint John said as she sat down opposite him. Englehorn noticed that some of the other patrons were quietly leaving, particularly from the tables immediately surrounding them. "No, I am representing a friend of mine who wishes to hire you. Under the present circumstances, I suggest you accept his offer."

"_Whose_ offer?" Englehorn asked, wondering how he could possibly sail out of New York again. The city and state would have his ship on the block, with Englehorn and his surviving crew in prison or the poorhouse due to the massive lawsuits that were coming his way.

"_Clark's_ offer," Dr. Saint John said. "Clark Savage, Junior, with the backing of President Roosevelt himself, wants to hire you."

Englehorn was speechless.

* * *

Thomas Roberts, Long Tom to his few friends, drove his roadster along a wooded New Jersey road. Long Tom was short, thin, and pale, with premature grey hair. Looking at him, one would have assumed that he was extremely ill, almost at death's door. However, Long Tom was actually extremely healthy. It had been more years than he could remember since he had had anything so much as a common cold. He was also exceptionally strong for a man who looked so weak, and he was one of the best hand to hand combat specialists in the world. During the Great War, he worked as an electrical engineer, often on projects decades ahead of their time. Unknown to most people, at the same time he was also training some of the Allies' best spies in hand to hand combat. One of them was the man he was going to see, a man Long Tom considered to be a good friend even though he didn't know his true name. A man he knew simply as…G-8, the legendary spy and flying ace!

Long Tom came upon a gate. He reached into the dash of his roadster and pulled out a microphone, which was part of a radio system he had, with Doc's help, designed.

"This is Major Roberts," he said. "I'm here."

A familiar voice came out of a hidden radio speaker, and the gates opened electronically. Long Tom had designed the security system for G-8's hidden airfield and facility as well.

"Come in, Major," the voice said. "You're expected."

Long Tom drove through the open gate and down the winding highway until he came upon, hidden masterfully among the trees, a hangar and airfield. Out in front of the hangar were six biplanes, each with men around them preparing for flight. Another man walked out of the hangar and towards Long Tom's parked roadster. He was not as unnervingly young as he had been during the war, but G-8 still moved with the easy grace of a trained athlete. Long Tom, stepping out of his car, matched his grace as he walked up to G-8 and shook his hand. G-8 and his battle aces had received a lot of secret help from Brigadier General Brook's think tank, and no one was more helpful than Major "Long Tom" Roberts.

"So," G-8 said to Long Tom. "What is it we can do for Doc Savage and the President?"

"Well," Long Tom said. "I assume you heard about the escaped giant gorilla…"

* * *

The streets were essentially deserted now. Johnny continued to run, the cool air burning slightly in his lungs, but his misted breath was still slow and regular. He had followed the sounds of the chase, Kong roaring over the squealing of brakes, probably from Driscoll's purloined cab. But now there was silence, and Johnny feared the worst.

Johnny came around the corner and saw Kong standing in front of the cab. The cab was totaled, its hood caved in. Driscoll was sitting unmoving in the front seat, his head down. But it was the expression on Kong's face that was the most startling. Was that _regret_ Johnny was seeing?

* * *

_He had finally caught up to him, the little male tufted ape who had kidnapped the yellow headed female from his protection. It was the pursuit of this little male that had ended with Kong being captured and brought here, wherever "here" was. _

_Kong remembered when the little tufted apes back home had offered him his first little female, after the rest of his family had died. With the deaths of his females, so too had died the need for the nursemaid assistance the little creatures provided to his females and their tiny infants. He tried to hand the first little female back to them across the great dry moat, tried to encourage them to take her back. So they did. _

_Then in front of him, they cut her throat and tossed her body into the dry moat. _

_Lesson learned. The only chance for survival the little females had was for him to take them. _

_Idiots. _

_But now, as he looked at the unconscious body of the little ape he had been so determined to obliterate just a few seconds ago, Kong decided that he himself was the one most deserving of the title of "idiot". Because now, as he stood in the deserted street looking down at his adversary, he realized what the little creature had been trying to do. _

_He had been trying to save his fellow tufted apes from __**his**__ rampage. Like a true patriarch he risked his own life, using Kong's hatred of him to lead him away. It was a courage that Kong respected, and finally, here on this deserted street, it led him to think. _

_Kong had falsely assumed, back home, that the male had simply tried to kidnap the female for some hideous purpose, perhaps to cut her throat high on the wall. But no, Kong now realized belatedly, he had been trying to __**save**__ her, from __**him**__! __**Kong! **__He, like Kong, cared about her. Perhaps, even though he looked far too young, he was her patriarch. Kong should have realized that the familiar tribe of tufted apes had probably kidnapped the yellow headed ape from her own seafaring tribe. If Kong had let the little male ape take her back with him, she would have been safe, and he would not be in this mad world that seemed determined to suck out his breath and his strength. _

_Then, suddenly, he sensed a presence. He turned, and there she was._

* * *

There he was. Standing there, looking so lost. Everyone else, she knew, would see him as a monster. The crew of the Venture did, Denham did, even Jack did. Well actually, Denham saw him as a meal ticket, but Kong had shown _him_. She couldn't see the man in the cab. Hopefully, he would be all right. She approached Kong, and he approached her. She had been so lost in his world, and now he was equally lost in hers. Somehow, she had to get him away from here. Somehow, she had to protect him, as he had protected her. It was insane, she knew, impossible in fact. But it was, somehow, what she had to do.

He picked her up. Holding her in his hand, looking at her, he walked away.

* * *

For the second time that night, Johnny was struck speechless. That brave young woman, who he knew must be Ann Darrow herself, had calmed the savage beast. Somehow, Denham had been _right_.

As Kong walked silently away, holding Ann Darrow in his hand, Johnny ran over to the cab to check on Jack Driscoll.

* * *

It was cold high on the side of the Empire State Building. Even though it was unseasonably warm for this time of year, it was still a December night high above New York, and the wind was biting. In his parka, John Renwick, known to his friends simply as "Renny", bit his prodigious lip and started work again on the mooring. He, Doc, and Long Tom had designed the apparatus to moor their own airship to the side of the building. There was a dirigible mast on top of the building, but the winds had proven to be too much for _conventional _dirigibles. But nothing Doc and his friends built, whether it was airships with powerful multi-directional engines that were capable of resisting powerful air currents, or titanium retractable steel posts coming out of the side of the 86th floor to allow for multiple lines to hold an airship secure against the winds, could be called _conventional_. But now, the retractable steel posts were being adapted for something else, as the frame for a capture net for a giant, 12-ton gorilla.

Leave it to Doc.

"Renny, how are you doing over there?" Doc asked. He sounded like he always did, whether he was sitting down at a table or hanging from the side of the world's tallest building. The two of them together were suspended in harnesses, stringing the steel reinforced hemp rope between the two poles. Where Doc had found this rope, Renny was not sure.

"Gettin' there, Doc," Renny said. "How do you know the big ape will come here?"

"When Ham launches his artillery attack, Kong should be able to use his agility and strength to escape them. He will look for higher ground, out of easy range. _This_ is the highest ground."

"Doc," Renny said as he swung from one retractable pole to the other, thick rope in hand. "Why do you think Kong is so smart as to figure this out, and come here? Why won't he just panic. He's just a big dumb animal, isn't he?"

"Renny, my brother," Doc said. "Regular gorillas, like all great apes, are quite intelligent. _This _one, I suspect, has an extraordinary intellect to match his extraordinary size. Remember when I asked Ham about Kong's head size?"

"Yeah," Renny said.

"We know as a rule of thumb, the larger an animal's brain relative to its overall body weight, the more intelligent it is," Doc said as he swung himself from one pole to the other. He had to speak up over the wind. "But, it's more complicated than that. A mouse's brain size relative to body weight is greater than that of human beings, but mice are hardly our intellectual equal. It's not just brain to body weight, you see, it's absolute brain size as well. There is a certain amount of brain that an animal any size needs. As body size increases, the need for more brain increases, but that need for brain size increase does not match body size increase. A man sized mouse would have a smaller brain than a man sized dog. A gorilla's brain is nearly half the size of a man's brain, but a gorilla is much heavier than most human beings. A man sized chimp has a brain one third the size of a human being."

"I think I'm getting you, Doc," Renny said. "A gorilla the size of Kong wouldn't need a brain proportionally as large as a regular sized gorilla."

"Right," said Doc. "But that's apparently what he has. Furthermore, given his great size and great weight, I suspect that his developmental period was longer than that of a regular gorilla as well, and a gorilla takes a decade and a half to reach full growth. I suspect that Kong took two, maybe even three decades to reach his full growth."

"Holy Cow!" Renny exclaimed. It was his favorite expression.

"The recipe for human intelligence is relative brain size, absolute brain size, and extended length of childhood development," Doc said. "Kong's brain size, relative to body weight, is greater than would be expected for a human his size. His absolute brain size will be substantially larger than a human being's, and his developmental period will be at least as long as our period of development, probably longer."

Doc swung back with his rope to the other pole where Renny was listening, dumbfounded.

"So you're saying…" Renny said.

"What I am saying is that the Venture did not capture a giant animal," Doc said. "It would be much more accurate to say they kidnapped an intelligent being, essentially a _**man**_ of a different species. Denham and the crew of the Venture did this being, this 'other man' if you will, a grave injustice.

"I am determined to capture him alive, and if at all possible earn his trust and return him home."

Next, A Giant Recaptured!

**Note: G-8 was the creation of author Robert P. Hogan. The character, like Doc Savage, was published in his own adventure magazine. G-8's adventures were set in World War I, but unlike Doc Savage, he did not survive the paper shortages of World War II. **


	3. Chapter 3 A Giant Recaptured!

**Any guesses who the cab mentioned below might belong to? **

Chapter 3 A Giant Recaptured!

Kong's trail ended surprisingly soon, literally around a couple of corners. There was a damaged taxi, and Johnny was standing with another man who looked tiny next to the freakishly tall archeologist/paleontologist.

One of the troop transports stopped next to the damaged taxi, and several soldiers jumped off, yelling at the two men to halt and identify themselves.

"You men are in violation of curfew…" Major LaSalle started to say until Ham interrupted him.

"That's enough, Major," Ham said. "Hey Johnny, what happened here?"

"This gentleman's legal appellation is Jack Driscoll," Johnny answered, returning to his customary language form. "He courageously yet foolishly distracted Kong from his mayhem manifesting activities by misappropriating a human transport conveyance and offering himself up as the focal point of the prodigious pongid's wrath."

Ham turned to Jack Driscoll, who was holding his bleeding head but otherwise seemed to be alert and all right.

"So you led Kong away?" Ham said.

"Yeah," Driscoll said. "Kong doesn't like me too much."

"So where did he go?" Major LaSalle asked, looking around. There was no obvious trail of destruction leading away from the destroyed taxi.

"They proceeded in that direction," Johnny said. "Perhaps towards Central Park."

"_**They**_?" Ham asked.

"Kong and Ann Darrow," Johnny said. "At least I believe it was Miss Darrow. He picked her up and took her with him."

Ham remembered Kong picking up young blond women and dropping them on snow piles or putting them down.

"You're probably right, Johnny," Ham said. "I think he was looking for her before he attacked the trolley."

"Wait a minute…" Driscoll said. "_Ann_ was_**here**_?"

"She probably saved your life, fella," Ham said.

"I don't think so," said Johnny. "I believe Kong actually stopped his attack _before_ he became aware of Miss Darrow's presence."

Johnny turned and looked at Driscoll.

"It appeared that Kong was _contrite _for trying to hurt you," Johnny said to Driscoll. "He was already de-escalated by the time he saw Miss Darrow."

"We have to find them!" Driscoll said. "We have to get her back!"

"_**You're**_ going back to the theater with Johnny," Ham said to Driscoll. "I need you to talk to him, tell him all you know about Kong."

"_No_," said Driscoll. "I want to go with you. I want to find Kong. Find _**Ann**_! I _**love**_ her!"

"Obviously," Johnny said as he turned to Ham. "According to Carl Denham, Driscoll here was the one who rescued Miss Darrow from Kong, not Baxter."

Ham looked at Jack Driscoll. He had already assumed that the Baxter story was so much hokum, but he thought that if any one man would have gone into a jungle to rescue Ann Darrow, it would have been Carl Denham, not Jack Driscoll. Driscoll looked like a mild, bookish scholar who wouldn't cross over to the other side of the railroad tracks, much less rescue a damsel in distress, or lead a berserk giant gorilla away from a crowded street. But then, Ham of all people knew how appearances were often deceptive. Johnny looked like an awkward scholar, and Ham himself looked like a dandy who wouldn't raise a finger to help anyone if it would risk dirtying his clothes.

"Listen, Mr. Driscoll," Ham said. "This is a military operation now. We have to stop Kong before more people get hurt. We'll do what we can for Ann, I promise. But you can help her the most now by telling Johnny all you know about Kong, and that includes his relationship to Miss Darrow."

"But you don't understand…" Driscoll said.

"I think we do, young man," Major LaSalle said, interrupting. "I married my high school sweetheart. I would do _anything_ for that woman. Nothing is harder than what we are asking you to do. By coming with us, it may feel like you are helping her, but you won't be. On the other hand, if you give us the information we need, we are more likely to be able to rescue your girl."

"So why can't I give you the information while we search for him?" Driscoll asked.

"Because we can't listen to you and search effectively at the same time," Ham said. "We need to concentrate on the search for Kong and Miss Darrow…."

"Don't give me that!" Driscoll snapped, looking back and forth between LaSalle, Ham, and Johnny. "You aren't searching for Ann! You're primary job is to find and kill Kong, and if Ann gets in the way, that's too bad. I mean, that's the truth isn't it?"

Ham looked at Major LaSalle, who looked back. LaSalle probably thought that Driscoll was right on the money. Ham knew, however, that Doc had other ideas. But he couldn't tell Driscoll that now. He couldn't tell Driscoll that he was actually part of a mission to help _rescue_ Kong from the very army he was leading.

Ham masterfully lied by omission.

"You're right, our primary mission is to stop Kong," Ham said. "But we don't want to hurt any civilians if we can avoid it, and that includes Ann.

"_Help_ us, Jack. You can't stop us, but you can help to make this outcome the best one possible, _especially_ for Ann."

"On 'Skull Island'," Driscoll said. "I went through a forest filled with dinosaurs, giant bats, and man eating bugs to get to Ann. I won't let a bunch of soldier boys…"

Ham nodded at Johnny, who with lightning quickness wrapped his long arms around Driscoll. Driscoll tried to struggle, but Johnny's deceptive strength was far too much for the playwright.

Ham turned to LaSalle.

"Let's go see if we can find the gorilla," he said. "_And_ the girl!"

* * *

Driscoll watched as the convoy left in the direction Johnny had indicated. When the convoy was over a block away, Johnny released him.

"You son of a…" Driscoll said. Then he took off running. But he only got two or three steps before the tall archeologist was standing in front of him.

"You can't outrun me, and we already know you can't overpower me," Johnny said. "Besides, here is our ride."

Driscoll turned and looked up the street, and saw another car approaching them. It was another yellow taxi. The car pulled to a stop right in front of them. Driscoll recognized the driver.

"You're the man who was trying to rescue that girl!" Driscoll said to the new arrival.

Monk got out of the taxi. His expression was miserable.

"Yeah," Monk said, his voice much higher than Driscoll would have expected for such a powerful looking man. "_Tried_ is the operative word. Get in."

Driscoll found himself getting into the rear seat of the car.

"We need to find Kong," Driscoll said. "Before he hurts Ann."

"Do you really think he would hurt her?" Johnny asked him.

Driscoll flashed back to the gruesome find he made with Hayes, Denham, and the others. He remembered the bodies of the other female sacrifices to Kong. He thought of Kong flinging Hayes into the trunk of a tree, and dumping them all off of a log into a pit of giant insects.

"I don't trust Kong," Driscoll said. "He has a temper. He's an animal, and he may turn on Ann at any moment."

"You'll get no argument from me, brother," Monk said.

"So you'll help me look for her?" Driscoll asked, feeling hope that someone would finally help him.

"Well, you won't get any argument except for that," Monk amended. "Much as I hate it, both Doc and the President put the Shyster in charge of this deal. I'm supposed to go back and supervise the rescue and clean-up."

So saying, Monk turned the taxi back the way he came.

"Wait a minute," said Johnny. "Is that one of _Long Tom's_ radios?"

"Oh yeah," Monk said. "This cab belongs to one of you-know-who's agents. You know, the glowing ring gang?"

"I am aware of the individual to whom you are referring," Johnny said. "Ham said that I needed to talk with Doc."

Monk shrugged.

"Be my guest," Monk said. "I tried to radio Doc just before I left to pick you guys up, but he's not responding. I'm guessing he's setting up for company, if you know what I mean."

Driscoll felt a small surge of hope. He had already realized that these men were affiliated with Doc Savage, but the full import of this association was just sinking in. Apparently the Man of Bronze was already involved in this affair! Doc Savage was reputed to be the most resourceful man in the world, bar none.

"I need to talk with Dr. Savage," Driscoll said.

"You will," Johnny said as he took the radio microphone from Monk. "I suspect he wants to hear from us both!"

* * *

_The snow on the trees reminded him of his childhood, when he traveled with his mother to visit her brother in the mountains. His uncle lived with his family group high on the side of a mountain, and that was the first and last time that Kong personally experienced ice and snow (until now anyway). His uncle was undoubtedly long dead by now. Kong wondered if his uncle's family group was all dead as well, killed by the same tufted ape invaders who had slaughtered his own family. Kong looked over the trees to the great structures the little apes here had built. They reminded him of the great ant colonies from his homeland, but even larger. Their numbers here were truly frightening. If they ever came to his homeland in force…_

_Kong's musings ended when he stepped on the pond. He fought to keep his balance, and the little blond ape was clearly uneasy. Again he remembered his childhood, when he played with his cousins on a glacier. He started to laugh, and as he laughed so did the little blond female. He sat down and started to push himself around. He knew that the female's tribe would soon come to kill him with their incredibly dangerous weaponry, and given their numbers would certainly succeed. But in his long and hard life, he had learned the importance of moments. Sliding around the ice with a friend was fun. It was fun when he was a child and it was fun now as his life was undoubtedly soon to end. At this moment, on the ice with his little friend, he was content. _

* * *

Major LaSalle felt a variety of emotions. He was stunned by the size of the giant gorilla. He had seen the damage the giant had caused, the injuries and loss of life, but even so he was unprepared for how large he truly was. However, as he watched Kong slide on his belly along the ice like a giant otter, he also felt sadness. The animal clearly had a playful side to him, and he could hear the young woman, Miss Darrow, laughing with him. It wasn't _Kong's_ fault that Denham had brought him here. LaSalle was a military man, a hard bitten war veteran who knew how to do what it took. He had made it a point to see the damage that his artillery strikes had done to human beings during the war, the carnage it had caused. He knew that to fight in a war was to participate in its horrors. He felt sorry for the gorilla, and he felt much worse for the woman who probably had saved a lot of other lives tonight. But he was a soldier, and he forced himself to think once again about the damage he had seen in front of the theater.

"Fire," he whispered. The cannon next to him fired, and the exploding shell landed right behind Kong. The giant gorilla's speed and agility were incredible. He quickly took advantage of the momentum from the explosion to propel himself onto shore and to run away.

"_**Fire**_!" Major LaSalle yelled.

* * *

Ham watched uneasily as the first shell landed so close to Kong, and by extension Ann Darrow. But close was no cigar, and Kong's response was to run, with incredible speed, _towards_ them. At first Ham thought he was attacking them, but Kong ran right past most of them, backhanding only one of the vehicles aside. While some of the machine guns fired, most of LaSalle's men couldn't fire without fear of hitting their fellows in the crossfire.

Jumping into the vehicle beside him, Major LaSalle swore.

"Did you see that, General?" he said. "He ran right _at _us, putting us _all_ into the crossfire! I am sure it was probably accidental, but a smart tactic nevertheless."

Ham didn't think it was accidental. There were all sorts of different directions Kong could have gone in, but he picked the direction that would cut down on the fire. It was a brilliant tactic, and it begged the question.

How intelligent _was_ this big ape?

Kong leaped up the side of a building, and then leaped to another building, then to the steel beam structure of yet another building. LaSalle's driver drove like a maniac to keep up with the other vehicles. LaSalle's men did their best, but Kong continued to rapidly climb and leap from building to building, leaving LaSalle's pursuit behind. One of the cannons boomed again, striking the side of a building, knocking bricks and glass loose.

"Major, that was an _apartment _building!" Ham yelled. "Tell your men to hold their cannon fire!"

LaSalle stuck his head out of the window.

"Hold your fire!" he yelled. It was a moot point anyway, Kong had left the pursuit far behind.

"Well done, Major," Ham said.

"Well done?" LaSalle said. "Begging your pardon sir, but the big ape got away!"

Ham watched as Kong jumped onto the Empire State Building and started to climb, exactly like Doc predicted he would.

"No," Ham said. "No, he didn't."

* * *

_As Kong climbed the tallest structure he could find, he wondered if the little apes had lost their minds. Didn't they care about one of their own females? Kong realized just how little he understood these creatures. _

* * *

"Doc, that was Ham," said Renny as he hung up the blue phone. "Kong is on his way up the building."

Doc nodded then turned his attention back to his short wave radio.

"Johnny, I need to go," he said. "Thank you for your observations. Mr. Driscoll, I am especially grateful for your observations as well."

Driscoll's voice came over the radio.

"_Please_ save Ann!"

"Of course," Doc said. "Miss Darrow is a brave young woman. And her well being is vital to the success of this enterprise."

"What enterprise?" Driscoll asked.

"I am going to recapture Kong," Doc said. "Johnny, take Mr. Driscoll with you to the Venture, give Captain Englehorn and his crew any help they need to set sail."

"Wait!" Driscoll's voice yelled. "_**Recapture Kong**_? The _**Venture**_?? _Are you out of your__** mind**_??"

"Doc out."

Doc shut off the radio. He had much to do.

* * *

Ann was worried. Kong had once climbed a great height with her in hand once before, to his high mountain cave home. During that climb however, he was not short of breath. This time, he was breathing hard as he reached the top of the Empire State Building. Once there, he sat and looked out over the city. Ann turned. It was cold up here, and she was grateful for the warmth of his great hand.

It was sunrise. Ann remembered sharing a sunset with Kong, now they were sharing a sunrise. She turned to look at him, and saw Kong taking his left hand and touching his chest with it. She stared, amazed. When she and Kong had watched the sunset from the side of his mountain, she had touched her chest and brought it out, saying "beauty".

Now, he was imitating the action. Not perfectly, but recognizably.

Ann felt many emotions at that moment. Awe at Kong's sensitivity, memory, and perceptiveness, anger at Carl Denham and the crew of the Venture for not leaving him be once Jack had brought her back, and sorrow, both because of the loss of human life that had occurred because of Kong's misadventure here, and because she knew, in the end, that the army or someone would come for him, and that she couldn't protect him when they did.

"Excuse me."

Ann and Kong both turned. Standing next to them was a man. Ann had seen pictures of this man in the newspapers, and once even saw him in person as he rode through the city standing on the running board of a car.

"_Doc Savage_!" she gasped.

* * *

_Kong was amazed. The little bronze tufted ape had actually managed to approach him without being heard, a feat that in his memory had never been accomplished before. The little bronze ape was tall for his kind, and muscular. He moved with a grace he had rarely seen before among the little apes, except perhaps in the very female he held in the palm of his hand. _

_This, Kong suspected, must truly be a patriarch among his kind. He looked at Ann. What he did next would depend on her response to this new male. _

* * *

Ann was terrified. She remembered how Kong had looked at Jack when he was rescuing her.

"Doctor Savage," Ann said as calmly as she could. "You need to leave, before he…"

Kong put her down. More incredibly still, he put her down right in front of Doc Savage, and gently pushed her to him.

* * *

_Kong guessed that that the little bronze ape was here to take the little yellow haired ape to safety. Kong hoped that in his rage he hadn't killed the __**other**__ little male, whose intentions he was now certain he had misjudged. Kong was determined not to make the same mistake. _

_Kong knew that soon other little apes would be coming with their powerful weapons. It was best that she be out of the way when they arrived. _

* * *

Doc was actually flabbergasted, for several reasons. First, Kong was physically an even more impressive specimen than he had ever imagined. The scars were yet another piece of supportive evidence for his wild theory. No land known on Earth would support a primate as large as Kong, or for that matter the predators who had made those scars. Doc estimated that the creatures that made those scars would have been nearly twice the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

But the thing that flabbergasted Doc the most was Kong's handing Miss Darrow over to him. That was not what he had planned. Doc had planned for Kong to chase him around the building until they were both over the net stretched between the two retractable steel poles on the other side of the building. Since Doc could not know which side of the building Kong would climb, it had been a risk to set the net out. If Kong had seen it, he might well have destroyed it. However, there was no way they could have put the net out _after _Kong had finished his climb, and there was 75 percent chance that the net would be hidden from him as he climbed the building. _That_ gamble had paid off, but Kong handing Miss Darrow over to him was not something Doc had anticipated.

"Please, Doctor Savage," Miss Darrow said. "Don't hurt him."

Doc immediately had an idea, an idea he hated. Doc was a painfully honest man, but in this case, there was only one chance of capturing Kong safely, and there was very little time. He knew G-8 and his battle aces were on their way. If he couldn't capture Kong, they would shoot him down.

"Renny!" Doc yelled. "_**Fire**_!"

Ann responded just as Doc hoped.

"_**No**_!!" she screamed. "_**Don't**_!"

* * *

Renny was confused. Everything seemed to be under control. Kong had just handed the Darrow woman over to Doc, and seemed to be calm. So why was Doc yelling at Renny to fire?

Renny reluctantly took out his machine pistol, loaded with mercy bullets. The engineer doubted the giant gorilla would even feel the bullets. But he fired anyway.

* * *

As she heard the machine gun fire Ann Darrow tried to run towards Kong, to protect him with her body. Given the size difference, the idea of shielding him was absurd, but she couldn't think of what else to do. She felt Doc Savage grab her around the waist and pick her up and run away from Kong. She tried to struggle, but against the bronze giant's great strength, it was useless. With incredible speed, Doc carried her around the corner. She heard Kong's angry roar as he easily swung around the corner, then placed his huge hand right in their path. The giant gorilla's angry face came right up to them in its full and intimidating glory. Ann felt Kong's hot, angry breath.

But Doc did not stop. Incredibly, he leaped on top of Kong's hand and off of it again, and swung around the next corner. Once again, Kong swung around in front of them. This time, Doc _did_ stop.

"I'm truly sorry, Miss Darrow," he said.

For the first time, Ann wondered why Doc sounded like he had a head cold.

* * *

Renny threw four anesthetic gas bombs, one right after the other. The anesthetic was jointly developed by Doc and Monk. It was very potent, but also rapidly broke down in the open air. The big gorilla was already breathing hard, but he and Doc, with their nose plugs, were able to hold their breaths and close their eyes, shutting off the membranes from the gas.

* * *

_Kong heard four little pops, then saw the little bronze ape throw two little balls at him. They exploded on his hand, producing two more little pops. He was confused. The balls were undoubtedly some form of weapon, but they didn't hurt. _

_Then, an incredible tiredness seized Kong. He realized the balls must have contained a sleeping agent, much like the foul smelling stuff the little apes had thrown into his face on the shore back home. He would fall asleep and fall off of the structure to his death, a brilliant and merciful way to end his life. _

_Kong barely registered letting go of the building. Curiously, he reached the ground much sooner than he expected, and it seemed to be surprisingly soft and yielding. _

_Then, Kong knew no more. _

* * *

Holding a sleeping Ann Darrow in his arms, Doc looked at the unconscious giant lying in the great net below him. He heard Renny rappel down alongside him.

"Take Miss Darrow, Renny," Doc said. He handed Ann Darrow to Renny then leaped down onto Kong's unconscious body to conduct a quick examination. It was somewhat difficult because Doc didn't know what would be typical for a gorilla Kong's size. However, the labored breathing was expected, which was yet another piece of supporting evidence for Doc's wild theory. The very air here in New York was probably insufficient to sustain the great beast for long. It was critical that Doc get Kong home as soon as possible.

As Doc finished his physical examination of Kong, he heard airplane engines. He looked up to see six biplanes approaching. The guns of G-8 and his battle aces would not be needed, but the apparatus installed by Long Tom and now hanging below each plane would be very important. In the distance Doc saw another aircraft, this one a dirigible. He knew this craft was rising out of a special hangar on the top floor of the Hildago Trading Company warehouse. Doc owned both the HTC and the dirigible, an airship with multiple powerful engines that assisted in holding the craft aloft, and that would allow them to transport the great Kong to his private dock, where the Venture would be waiting.

"Hey, Doc," Renny yelled. "Who's flying the ship? Long Tom?"

"No," said Doc. "Someone else."

He fervently hoped that his only living relative, his cousin Patricia Savage, was up to the task.

Next, Chapter 4 The Venture


	4. Chapter 4 The Venture

**First of all, thanks to Rebecca Ann and Nate the Ape for the kind reviews. Unfortunately, we won't be having any scenes from Kong's viewpoint for the next two chapters because Kong is unconscious. However, he'll be back in a big way soon enough. **

Chapter 4 The Venture and the Land Behind the Mists

Monk drove the cab to a private Manhattan dock. The large warehouse that overshadowed the dock and the Venture was identified as the _Hildago Trading Company_ in large black letters. As Driscoll recalled, Hildago was the name of a very small, heavily forested country in Central America close to the British Honduras. Doc Savage was reported to have extensive holdings in that country.

The road between the dock and the warehouse was filled with several military vehicles. Driscoll recognized both Ham and Major LaSalle. Ham was talking to Captain Englehorn, who was clearly animated and upset. Standing with them was a strikingly attractive blond woman with extremely bright blue eyes.

Monk stopped the cab.

"Time to get out," he said. Johnny and Driscoll each opened their doors and stepped out of the cab. An older man, looking very much like a New York cabby, took the keys from Monk and took his place behind the wheel. Driscoll noticed a ring with a black stone on the cabby's right hand.

As the cabby got into the cab he asked, "Where to, boss?"

"The Cobalt Club," a deep, raspy male voice answered. Driscoll looked inside the cab and saw a handsome man sitting in the cab. He was wearing a tuxedo. Driscoll wondered if he had come from the Alhambra Theater.

"Where did _he_ come from?" Driscoll asked Johnny.

"I believe he was occupying the conveyance simultaneously with us," Johnny answered.

"_What_?" Driscoll responded incredulously. "I think I would have _remembered_ if someone else was in the cab with us."

"You wouldn't," Monk said. "He does that sort of thing, hiding in plain sight, all of the time. Just be grateful he let us have the cab."

The cab pulled away. Monk and Johnny started walking over towards Ham, Captain Englehorn, and the blond woman with bright blue eyes. Driscoll followed.

"I won't do it!" Englehorn said in his light German accent. His face was flushed and his voice was raised. Driscoll reckoned that he had never seen Englehorn so upset, even after he had lost half his crew. "I will not take that damned ape back onto my ship!"

Johnny and Monk looked at each other, and the ape like chemist stopped walking. Johnny and Driscoll stopped as well to watch the discussion in front of them.

"This is gonna be good," Monk said, his voice softer and much deeper than usual.

"Captain Englehorn," Ham said calmly. "I think you are not entirely cognizant of your situation here. You and Mr. Denham brought a _giant gorilla_ into New York. True, this was with the tacit blessing of both the mayor and the governor, but now said gorilla has escaped and caused a lot of damage and mayhem, and you know how politicians are. They are very determined to deflect the blame for this onto you and Mr. Denham, and to a certain extent they have a point. Everyone knew a gorilla that big would be very strong, but no one here could have anticipated a 25 to 30 foot tall beast who could snap chrome steel chains, leap through and up tall buildings, and easily outrun a motorized military pursuit. Only the people who captured him would have had any idea of Kong's true capabilities. And now, people are dead, property is damaged, and the mayor and the governor are very sensitive to the city's outrage at this failure to protect them. I can guarantee you that outrage will be expressed at your expense, Captain Englehorn. The only thing keeping you safe is an executive order from the President of the United States, but he is understandably anxious himself. After all, he is this state's previous governor."

"So what will happen if I refuse?" Englehorn asked Ham.

"You'll lose your ship, every cent you have, and quite possibly your freedom if it is determined that your negligence was criminal," Ham answered.

Englehorn nodded.

"That's what I thought," he said. Englehorn was calmer but no happier. Driscoll felt a little sorry for him, but only a little. He thought back to the moments after Denham had gassed Kong. Driscoll had tried to talk sense into Englehorn, to convince him to leave the great beast on the shore. But instead, using both the ship's crane and improvised pulleys made from tree trunks and thick vines, Englehorn and his crew had loaded Kong onto the ship, his great face under several chloroform soaked blankets.

"_I have to salvage something out of this," _Englehorn had said.

"_You stupid bastard_," Ann had said. "_All you have to do is leave him alone and we can __**all**__ be safely away_."

"_With half a crew dead and not one dime to show for it_?" Englehorn said. "_I'll be __**damned **__if I am going to stand by and let us get nothing for all we've been through_. _People will __**pay**__ good money to see that big ape_. _They'll pay a lot, and after he's dead they'll __**still**__ pay a lot to see him stuffed and mounted in a museum_."

Ann looked at Englehorn like he had just slapped her. She pretty much avoided speaking to him or any of the crew after that, except to request some time to visit Kong. The crew would let Kong wake a little and try to coax him to eat some of the ship's fruit and vegetables (since half of the crew was gone, there were plenty of leftovers), and greenery brought on board from the "island". The only one who had any success in getting the drug addled Kong to eat and drink even a little was Ann, and even then the big gorilla didn't seem to recognize her. It was just that Ann was the only one willing to get really close to Kong. Driscoll tried to convince Ann to stay away from the big ape, that he was too risky for her to be around. After that conversation, Ann avoided him as she did Denham and the crew. Driscoll was moved out of the main hold to make room for the sleeping Kong (most of the larger cages had been dumped onto the shore, and the smaller cages had been moved to the smaller hold). He found himself in vacated guest quarters thanks to the deaths of Denham's film crew. No one bothered him except for Englehorn, who because he was so short handed would occasionally draft him, Denham, and Denham's assistant Preston for various simple duties around the ship. Other than that, Driscoll spent the rest of the trip finishing the comedy he had in mind for Ann.

"…you don't know what Kong did to my crew," Englehorn said. "I really don't want to take the risk again of having him on my ship."

"Why not?" Ham asked. "You've already risked your crew once to bring him here."

Englehorn shook his head angrily, and fished a cigarette out of his shirt pocket. He was feeling around for a match when Ham extended him a light.

Englehorn looked, fascinated, at the device in Ham's hand.

"That's a Zippo?" Englehorn asked.

"Yes," Ham answered.

"I'd heard of them, but I've never seen one before," Englehorn said.

"Captain Englehorn," Ham said. "Here are the stakes. If you refuse to take us to where you got Kong, you will be left to the tender mercies of the city and state of New York. You will almost certainly lose your ship, any money you have, and perhaps your freedom. If you do agree to this job, on the other hand, you get a guarantee of no federal prosecution, Doc sets up a fund to pay all damages and suits that would otherwise be collected from you, and you will get paid handsomely."

"I imagine it's a much better deal than you were thinking you would get when you first heard the news of Kong's escape," the blond woman said.

Englehorn nodded.

"True enough," he said. "Are you going?"

Driscoll was startled to hear the hopeful tone in Englehorn's voice at the question. She was very attractive, and appeared to be just the right age for him.

"No, I have a practice to attend to," the woman said. "Besides which, you'll find Clark and his crew are more than capable."

The woman looked around.

"In fact," she continued. "I think I am done here. Ham, gentlemen, good luck."

"Goodbye, Doctor," Ham said. Driscoll was impressed with the respect in his voice. It was similar to the tone Monk and Johnny adopted when talking about Doc Savage. "Major LaSalle! Have one of your men take Dr. Saint John home, she'll tell you where."

"That name sounds familiar," Driscoll said to Johnny.

"Well," Johnny replied. "She was once profiled in Ripley's Believe it or Not, the strip on Ashcraft's Syndrome."

"Ashcraft's Syndrome?" Driscoll said.

"Also known as Human Battery Syndrome," Johnny said.

"That's a myth, isn't it?" Driscoll asked.

"Just as big a myth as 30 foot giant gorillas," Monk said as he started to walk towards Ham and Englehorn.

* * *

Ann smelled something sour, and she opened her eyes. The light was so bright she closed them again. She heard two voices.

"She's awake," the first voice said. She recognized the calm, controlled tones of Doctor Savage.

"Hey, sister, it's OK," the second voice said. "You just got a wiff of Doc's cure for his knock out gas."

The second voice was female.

Ann was lying on what felt like a cot. She also heard and felt a thrumming that went through her bones. Engines of some sort, she imagined.

Ann tried to open her eyes again. This time, she saw two human heads that eventually resolved themselves into the handsome bronze faces of Doctor Savage and of a beautiful young woman, scarcely more than a girl. They looked related. Both of them had bronze skin tone, and hair of a similar color but darker. Her hair was long, cascading in curls down to her shoulders. Doctor Savage's hair was short and slicked back on his head. He looked like a living statue cut out of bronze.

Their eyes were their most arresting features. Doctor Savage's eyes were of a dark bronze almost identical to his hair color, but with gold flecks. The girl's eyes were bright green, with golden flecks in them.

"You may stand up whenever you wish," Doctor Savage said. "There shouldn't be any side effects."

As Ann started to sit up, she looked around. She was in the cabin of what she suspected was a large dirigible. A big man with huge hands was sitting at the controls of the craft. Windows ran in an oval along the entire length and breadth of the cabin, which explained the light that assaulted her eyes when she first opened them.

Then she remembered being on the Empire State Building, and Kong.

"Kong!" Ann cried. "If you used that gas on him then he fell…"

"Kong is fine, Miss Darrow," Doctor Savage said. Then he turned to the young woman standing next to him. "Pat, take Miss Darrow to the window and show her."

"Sure, Doc," Pat said.

Ann noticed that Pat was tall, well over six feet herself, but looked like she shouldn't be that tall. She noticed the same thing of Doctor Savage, who towered above her, but didn't look like he should be that tall. Ann realized that both of them were proportioned like average sized people. Pat was dressed in slacks, and also wore an aviator's jacket and boots. The outfit, however, complimented her curves. Ann felt the tiniest twinge of jealousy. Pat looked like a goddess.

"C'mon, sister," Pat said kindly. "Let's go look in on your big friend."

So saying, Pat walked over to the nearest windows in the cabin. Ann followed. Pat looked downwards, and Ann followed her gaze.

And there he was.

A sleeping Kong was suspended in a giant net hammock. Several large cables ran up from the hammock to the air ship, and other cables ran up from the net to the biplanes that were flying alongside the ship.

"Doc's airship is carrying most of the load," Pat explained. "The planes are just helping to insure that the hammock doesn't tip. Don't want the big ape to fall out now."

Doctor Savage approached and stood next to them.

"Where are you taking him?" Ann asked. Doctor Savage was not only known as a brilliant surgeon, he was also known to be a brilliant polymath, one expert in a variety of professional fields. She imagined he might want to do experiments on Kong.

"We're taking him to my private dock at the Hildago Trading Company," Doc said. "The Venture is waiting for us there."

"The _Venture_?" Ann replied. She was shocked. "Why is the _Venture_ there?"

"Because the Venture and her captain have already been to Kong's homeland, and we are going to take him back there," Doc said.

For a second Ann couldn't breathe, her chest constricted by the rush of emotion she felt. Her eyes burned, she sobbed, and before she realized what she was doing she turned and hugged Doctor Savage.

"Do you really _mean_ it?" she asked when she was able to recover her voice. She disengaged herself from Doctor Savage, who didn't seem to know how to respond to Ann's sudden burst of affection.

"'Course he _means_ it, sister," Pat said. "That's what Doc _does_. He helps people. All sorts of people, even really big hairy ones."

Doctor Savage cleared his throat. Ann looked at him and realized that his color had deepened a little. He was _**blushing**_! Pat looked amused.

"Miss Darrow," Doctor Savage said, his calmly modulated voice slightly less calmly modulated. "I managed to get some information from Mr. Driscoll, but I need more from you. I need you to tell me what you can about Kong and his home."

Ann nodded. She felt a rush of warmth, but also regret, when Doctor Savage mentioned Jack Driscoll. The man had risked his life to save her, and to save others as well. He had taken her away from Kong. She also remembered him jumping over the side of a boat to rescue Jimmy from drowning when Kong was chasing them from shore. And how had she thanked Jack Driscoll for his heroism? She had given him the cold shoulder when he expressed misgivings about her going to see Kong in the large hold. They hadn't spoken to each other for the rest of the voyage, and she hadn't seen him since the voyage ended. But during that time, she'd had time to reflect on Jack Driscoll. She had admired the gentle humanity in his plays, and on "Skull Island" she had seen him engage in genuine heroics because of that same humanity. Jack Driscoll had been heroic because his first impulse was to help others. Ann had had a crush on the idea of the man for years. What she felt now for him went much deeper. It was too bad she probably would never see him again.

"Of course, Doctor Savage," Ann said. "I'll tell you everything I can."

* * *

Jimmy was carrying a midsized cage out of the small hold with a crewman named Helstrom. Helstrom was certain that he was going to be Englehorn's next First Mate. Jimmy sincerely hoped not. Helstrom was a braggart, and his friend "Red" was a bully. The crewmen were clearing out the small hold so that it could hold more food for Kong, and also for something that one of Doc Savage's crew, the lawyer, called "the Rumbler". Jimmy did not like the idea of hauling Kong back to the island and letting him go. For that matter, Jimmy also had not been in favor of bringing him to New York in the first place. It's not that he wanted to leave Kong alone in peace. Jimmy would have happily put dynamite under the gorilla's head. The damn ape had thrown Mr. Hayes into a _tree_! Late at night, when Jimmy remembered those horrible events, he almost found himself making allowances for the fact that it was _they_ who were invading _Kong's _territory, or that Mr. Hayes had cocked his gun right before the ape had thrown him away like yesterday's garbage. But then Jimmy would remember that Mr. Hayes was the closest thing to a father he had ever known, and his hatred for Kong would return as strong as ever. Besides which, it wasn't like a big ape like Kong would have known what a gun was.

As he and Helstrom came out of the hold and started down the gangplank, Jimmy craned his neck to look at the new arrival standing on the dock. The man looked like death warmed over. Short and thin, with grey hair and a sallow complexion. Jimmy knew that would be "Long Tom" Roberts, the electrical engineer.

"Watch where you're going, boy!" Helstrom snapped. Jimmy turned his head and saw Red standing in his path. The big, red headed man with the misshapen nose and scarred face, particularly around his eyes, snickered a little before stepping aside.

"Red," Helstrom said. "The next time that boy's not paying attention, you have my permission to take a _belt_ to him!"

Jimmy felt heat rise to his face. Helstrom and Red were two of the crew members who had stayed behind during the expedition to rescue Miss Darrow. If Captain Englehorn hadn't have brought Helstrom to shore with him during the capture of Kong, Jimmy felt certain the man would have stolen the ship and left them all stranded on "Skull Island".

Jimmy and Helstrom carried the cage through the front door of the warehouse. It looked like any other warehouse at first, but then Jimmy saw his and Helstrom's images standing looking away at a 90 degree angle, and he realized that much of the contents of the warehouse were hidden behind mirrors. Someone taking a quick glance in would see an almost empty warehouse. Jimmy wondered what wonders of technology were hidden behind the mirrors.

"Over here will be fine," a high pitched voice said. Jimmy turned and saw Doc Savage's ape-like aide, "Monk" Mayfair, standing over to the side and pointing to a corner with one extremely long arm. Cages were already piled in the corner.

Jimmy and Helstrom placed their cage in the corner with the others and went back out into the sunlight.

"Mr. Hayes!"

Jimmy kept walking.

"Mr. _Jimmy _Hayes!" Captain Englehorn said again. With a start, Jimmy realized that the Captain was calling him. He had been so used to the Captain addressing someone else by that name.

Jimmy ran over to Captain Englehorn, who was still standing next to Doc Savage's lawyer, "Ham" Brooks.

"This is my crewman, Mr. Hayes," Captain Englehorn said. The title of "crewman" was certainly a promotion from stowaway cabin boy! "He will show you to your rooms."

Ham looked at Jimmy with clear, dark grey eyes. He was smoking a cigarette on a holder and was still wearing a tuxedo and top hat.

"Lead on, Mr. Hayes," he said.

Jimmy nodded and started to turn towards the ship. But then he became aware of an incredulous muttering among the other men. He turned and saw that his fellow crewmen were all looking up. Jimmy followed their gaze and beheld an amazing sight! A huge dirigible was perhaps a mile away and descending towards them. Flying next to the airship were six biplanes, and suspended beneath all of them was what looked like a net hammock, and lying in that hammock was a sleeping Kong.

Englehorn swore. So did Jimmy.

Ham chuckled.

"Doc sure does know how to make an entrance!" the elegant lawyer said.

* * *

Carl Denham couldn't believe it. He had gone from hero to goat in one night, and just as he was about to be taken away to jail, a soldier came with orders from Ham to take him…somewhere. He couldn't get the dead girl (_Crystal_, Monk said her name was) out of his mind. He had hired her (and then subsequently forgotten her name), he had brought her into this, and he was responsible for putting her into the position that got her killed.

Denham rode between two soldiers in the back seat of an open air Dodge Truck. It was cold, but in the daylight not as cold as one would normally expect for December in New York. After Kong's escape, Denham had stood staring at Crystal's body until Monk came over and pulled him away. Monk then handed him over to the nearest police officer. A shouting tuxedoed madman (Denham thought it was the mayor but he didn't care to confirm his identification) demanded that the producer be put in handcuffs. Hours later, he was still wearing those handcuffs.

Denham realized with a start that he was starting to smell ocean. They were taking him to the docks of lower Manhattan. The last time he was on those docks he was boarding the Venture to depart on a voyage to a place with many names: The Land Behind the Mists, the Land of the Skulls, Monster Island, Sparrow's Bestiary, the Blue Moon Mountains, and Maple White Land. Then there was the name the Challenger Expedition had given it: _The Plateau_. The land Denham later christened "Skull Island" (a combination of "Land of the Skulls" and "Monster Island") and falsely located in the East Indian Ocean (because Denham wanted to continue to have _exclusive_ access to the land for filming).

But somehow, Denham doubted he'd ever return to that land now. Englehorn seemed determined to keep the land's actual location a secret as well, if only to keep other sailors away from the deadly place.

The Dodge stopped, and the soldier next to Denham ushered him out. Then, to Denham's shock, he unlocked the handcuffs.

"You're free to go, Mr. Denham," he said.

_Free to go,_ Denham thought. _**That's**__ a laugh. I have nowhere to go, __**now**__. _

Denham reckoned he was the most despised man in New York City. And no one despised Carl Denham more at that moment than Carl Denham himself.

"There must be some mistake…" Denham started to say to his former captor, but the soldier had already gotten in the truck, and the truck was roaring away.

"There's been no mistake," a familiar voice said. Denham turned and looked, feeling a sense of relief for the first time since Kong's escape.

"Hello, Jack," Denham said.

Driscoll looked at Denham without expression.

"Follow me if you want to know what this is about," Driscoll said.

At that moment, a great shadow fell over the street. Both men looked up. Above them were a great airship, six biplanes, and Kong himself lying in a net suspended from the airship and the biplanes.

"I think I have an idea," Denham said.

* * *

Doc, now wearing a gas mask, tossed five more anesthetic grenades at Kong's head to keep him sedated. The great gorilla was starting to stir within the hammock just as the dirigible passed over the Hildalgo Trading Company Warehouse. Kong ceased his movement and two minutes later, after the gas had dissipated, Doc dropped onto the chest of the sleeping Kong. As one, G-8's six biplanes disengaged their tethers and flew off. G-8 waved his wings as he passed by on his return to his secret air field in New Jersey. Doc briefly waved back. Then he watched as the airship slowly moved over the Venture. Renny deftly piloted the ship so that Kong and his net hammock were directly over the Venture's open main cargo hold. Then, Doc knew that Pat would take back the controls to the ship so that Renny could operate the pulley system to lower Kong into the hold. Soon, Doc and Kong started to descend.

"Be prepared to take some of the load!" Doc called out to the shipboard crane operator. The operator nodded, and when the hammock was low enough, Doc took the hook to the crane and placed it through one of the hoops on the net. Then, Doc ran across Kong to the other side and in a display of remarkable strength pulled a loop over to the crane so that each side of the hammock was supported by the crane. This way, if the dirigible was blown off center, unlikely given its powerful engines, the crane would help to keep Kong centered over the open hold.

The crane operator was good, and quickly coordinated his actions with Renny's in the dirigible. Soon, they were completely lowered into the hold, and Doc was disconnecting his improvised hammock from the crane and the tethers. Doc rode the crane up, and the hatch was closed.

* * *

Englehorn watched Savage jump down from the crane onto the deck of his ship. The tethers were being pulled back into the airship, and it was starting to rise again into the air. Englehorn would never have believed it was possible to transport Kong by air from the top of the Empire State Building into the main cargo hold of his ship. But that was exactly what he had seen. He had heard stories about Doc Savage's resourcefulness, and always assumed that they were exaggerations. Clearly, if anything the stories understated Savage's ability!

Savage approached him. Englehorn felt like a child next to the bronze giant. The tendons on Savage's arms were like cables, and his upper arms were as thick as Englehorn's thighs. Savage's hand engulfed Englehorn's own. The Captain of the Venture braced himself for crushing pain, yet although the handshake was firm, it was not uncomfortable.

"Captain Englehorn," Doc Savage said. "Permission for my crew and myself to come aboard."

Englehorn cleared his throat.

"Permission granted," he said.

In the distance, Englehorn heard a powerful and loud engine come to life.

"What's that?" he asked.

Monk's expression was one of distaste.

"We call it 'the Rumbler'," Monk said. "The damn thing is as ugly as it is loud, but it gets the job done."

"And what job is that?" Englehorn asked.

"Jungle exploration," Doc said.

A few seconds later, as the Rumbler came out of the Hildago Trading Company garage, Englehorn was forced to agree with Monk's assessment of the thing's ugliness. It looked like a cross between a tank and a train. Overall, the damn thing looked like a giant caterpillar.

_What am I getting myself into this time? _Englehorn thought.

Next, Chapter 5

The Bermuda Gate


	5. Chapter 5 The Bermuda Gate

Chapter 5 The Bermuda Gate

Patricia Savage boarded the Venture prepared for a fight. It was the same fight she had with her famous cousin every time they got together. Pat would want to go on an adventure, and Doc would say no. This fight had become a frequent occurrence since the death of Pat's father the previous year (both Doc and Pat had lost their fathers within the year, and both of them were murdered!). After her father's death, she had moved to New York to be closer to Doc. Pat was young, just 18 in fact, but she was as capable, especially in the mayhem department, as any of Doc's aides. While she hadn't received her cousin's extraordinary upbringing (and secretly, she was glad of it, because Doc's upbringing had isolated him, rendering him socially awkward at times), she had been raised…permissively…by her late father, and she had much of the same sort of native talent that Doc had. Pat was already a skilled pilot and was rapidly becoming a skilled sailor as well, which may have been why Doc had relented to show her how to pilot the dirigible. Pat recently purchased, with Doc's financial backing, one of the most expensive and popular beauty salons in New York. Pat had earned her beautician's license right after graduating from High School at age 15, and she was a very savvy businesswoman. In fact, she ran the business so efficiently that it rapidly tripled in size, and earned its owner a lot of money and early financial independence. The financial independence, in turn, gave her plenty of free time. Pat used her free time to hone her already impressive athletic abilities, as well as her unarmed and armed combat skills.

Doc was extremely protective of his cousin, probably both because she was younger and, of course, female. Most of the time, Doc was able to keep Pat away from his adventures. But there were exceptions where Pat was able to worm her way in, or was already present at the beginning of the adventure. Pat also had her own, more local, adventures, including occasional encounters with members of the New York underworld. Doc of course knew about most of these adventures but seemed resolved to pretend that they never happened. As for the crooks, they tended to move their operations out of Pat's way rather than give her any serious trouble. Lost business was cheap in comparison to crossing swords with either Savage.

Pat walked up to Englehorn, the Captain of the Venture.

"Where's Doc?" she asked, or demanded, actually.

"Guest quarters," Captain Englehorn said. "Down those stairs, first door to the right."

"Thanks," Pat said.

She started to mentally prepare for what she was going to say. Doc was already taking Ann Darrow on this adventure so _really_, what was one _more_ dame? Besides which, she could help protect Ann from some of the rowdier sailors (never mind the fact that Ann seemed to get along on the first voyage without added protection).

Pat came to the door and took a deep breath. Then she rapped on it with more confidence that she was actually feeling.

"Come in, Pat," her cousin said in his perfectly modulated voice. Doc's voice was at once both soothing and yet a little unnerving as well, almost _too_ calm.

Pat entered and opened her mouth to say _Listen, Doc_ when Doc spoke first:

"Long Tom," he said to the small, pale, grey haired and grey skinned man with him. "I would like you to take Pat back home…"

"No, Doc, I'm _**not**_ going to go home…" Pat started to interrupt, but Doc continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"…so that she may pack for this expedition. Also, take Miss Darrow as well. Pat may be able to help her shop for more suitable clothes for this trip."

Pat was rendered speechless. She stared at Doc with her mouth open. For his part Long Tom, as he frequently did, looked a little sour. Of all of Doc's aides, Long Tom was the last one Pat would have picked as a shopping companion. However, at the moment she scarcely cared. Doc was taking _**her**_ on this adventure!

Doc looked at his cousin and smiled. Doc didn't smile often so Pat took the time to appreciate the moment, even if the smile was one at her own expense.

"Don't get used to it," Doc said. "But we need Ann Darrow on this voyage, and I figured she could use some female companionship."

"Good idea," Pat said. Then she turned to Long Tom. "I'll go get her."

* * *

"_**Ann**_!"

He had known exactly where he would find her, standing outside the below decks doorway to the large hold. Driscoll had first gone through this door when Jimmy was showing him to his "quarters", an empty lion cage. The lion cage, indeed every cage that had been in that hold, was gone now. Instead, the large hold was once again the home to a sleeping Kong.

Ann turned, seemingly startled at the sound of his voice. Then she smiled. Driscoll felt his soul melt a little.

"Hi, Jack!" Ann said. "I didn't expect to see _you_ here!"

"I've been advising Doc Savage about Kong," Jack said.

"Dr. Savage!" exclaimed Ann. "Isn't he_ wonderful_? He managed to capture Kong _alive_! And Jack, he wants to return him home! Isn't that wonderful?"

Driscoll nodded silently. Of course she was happy, Doc Savage had rescued her and the big ape both. How could any girl not get stars in her eyes over a guy like Dr. Savage? And how could any guy compete with a fellow like that?

"Yes, I suppose it is," Driscoll replied softly. "Are you all right?"

"Well sure," Ann said. "I wasn't in any danger from Kong."

"What about the artillery?" Driscoll said.

Ann shrugged.

"They didn't hit us," she said, her face suddenly serious. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was…" Dricsoll started to say _I was looking for you_, but instead he finished with: "I was asked by a couple of Savage's aides to provide them with information about my experience with Kong."

Ann nodded.

"That makes sense," she said. "I saw that toad Carl here as well."

"You know," Driscoll said. "Carl's not that bad. True, he is reckless and self involved and will do anything to get what he wants, but he is also generous, and when it counts he will try to do what's right."

"Kidnapping Kong wasn't right," Ann said. "Neither was using us as bait to capture him."

"I know," Driscoll said. "I _know_ it wasn't right. I hope Savage and his crew are able to get him back home."

"Oh they will," Ann said with a determined edge to her voice Driscoll had never heard before. "I'll make sure of it."

It took a couple of seconds for the full meaning of what Ann said to sink in.

"You mean," Driscoll said. "You mean you are _going _on this voyage?"

Ann looked at him with a grim and angry expression.

"Don't _even_ try to talk me out of this," she said.

Driscoll shook his head. Trying to talk her out of this hadn't even occurred to him. But suddenly, Driscoll made a decision that he was until that moment unaware that he was going to make. .

"I won't try to talk you out of this," Driscoll said. "In fact, I'm going too."

"_Really_?" Ann said. "Jack, that…that's wonderful…I…"

"_Hey,_ sister!" a new voice said. Both Ann and Driscoll turned to see Pat Savage standing at the head of the stairs. "Doc wants me to take you shopping for the trip. You coming?"

Ann turned and looked longingly at the door to the main hold.

"I suppose," she said. "This better not be a trick where the boat leaves while we are in the city."

"I already thought of that, but Long Tom is taking us, and Doc wouldn't leave _him_ behind," Pat said. "Not to mention, while Doc can be devious when it comes to keeping me away from adventure, he's a pretty straight arrow. He wouldn't lie outright to me."

Ann nodded.

"OK," she said. Then she turned to Driscoll and smiled. Driscoll felt a warm clench in the pit of his stomach. "Guess I'll be seeing you around Jack."

* * *

Captain Englehorn was furious, but he held his tongue as he sat at the table in his quarters with Doc Savage and Ham seated opposite him.

Their request that that self-important cockroach Carl Denham ride along with them was bad enough. The man's recklessness was largely responsible for the losses his crew had suffered during the last trip, and was certainly responsible for the damage that Kong had just caused, the damage that was forcing him to take this voyage, and to wire the Singapore outfit to inform them that they would have to find someone else to deliver their capuchins. But he could _live_ with Denham, it was when they indicated that they wanted to take _Ann Darrow_ as well that Englehorn became _really_ angry.

Englehorn had liked Miss Darrow. She had enchanted the entire crew while remaining professional as a member of Denham's crew. As a passenger on the ship, she had done everything Englehorn asked of her on the trip over. But on the trip back, she was cold to him and seemed most concerned with the very giant gorilla they had rescued her from. She had been polite enough, and made every effort to individually thank every surviving crew member for their efforts to save her. She especially spent some time with Jimmy early on in the voyage to talk to him about the late Mr. Hayes. But everyone, including Jimmy, was frustrated by her concern for that damn monster.

Ham watched Englehorn closely. The lawyer's face radiated intelligence, and Englehorn felt that it would be almost impossible to hide anything from the man even if he didn't say anything. He suspected it would be even harder to hide anything from Savage.

"What are your objections to Miss Darrow?" Savage asked in his perfectly modulated and even voice.

"I didn't say that I had any objections to Miss Darrow," Englehorn said.

"No," Ham replied. "But you looked like you ate a persimmon when we mentioned Denham, and you looked like we just asked you to poke a knife in your eye when we mentioned Ann Darrow."

"I won't lie to you, then," Englehorn said. "I'm not happy she's going. But, you are the customer and so I will not argue with you on this. Just…_you_ will be responsible for her, all right?"

"Of course," Savage said. "But it's not just you. _All _of your crew members were clearly unhappy to see Miss Darrow again. What did she do to arouse such ire?"

Englehorn looked at Savage and opened his mouth, and then realized that he was actually somewhat stumped. Miss Darrow hadn't actually _done_ anything wrong.

"I have a theory," Savage said.

"What is that?" Englehorn asked.

"Most of the men you lost were lost in the pursuit of Kong," Savage said. "Maybe most were even lost at the hands of Kong when he fought off your pursuit. I imagine that the crew of a ship like yours often becomes like a family."

Englehorn nodded.

"Not to get mushy about it, but we do depend on each other," Englehorn said. "And I had a good crew. I still have a good crew for the most part."

Englehorn paused for a moment as he thought of Helstrom and (Red) O'Hara. He didn't trust those two farther than his _mother_ could throw them. He felt that he was in a sort of dilemma. Helstrom, who had once captained a ship himself, was clearly the most qualified to be Hayes' replacement as first mate. The problem was, Englehorn frankly didn't like or trust the man. Most of the crew he had left were decent enough men, but except for Helstrom the leaders among his crew had been decimated on the last trip. Curiously, as he thought about this, he felt a fresh wave of fury at Ann Darrow.

"What's your point, Savage?" Englehorn snapped. He saw Ham scowl at his tone, but Savage's expression didn't change a whit.

"You recovered Miss Darrow alive," Savage said.

"Yes," Englehorn said. "So?"

"So, Kong at least refrained from harming the girl. It is possible that he actually protected her."

"He _took_ her!" Englehorn said. "The girl would have been much safer if he let her _be_!"

"Actually, it was my understanding that the _natives_ took her," Savage said. "They took her and offered her to Kong. If Kong hadn't taken her, what do you think would have happened to her, realizing, of course, that he had no way of knowing that a rescue party was on it's way?"

"Are you saying Kong took her to _protect_ her?" Englehorn asked incredulously.

"I don't know _why_ he took her," Savage said. "But that's a theory. He might not have felt that he had a choice."

Englehorn snorted. Ham scowled at him again, but Savage remained unperturbed.

"Why did you send so many men after Kong to retrieve her?" Savage asked a few seconds later.

"I didn't," Englehorn said. "Most of the men volunteered."

"Why did they do that?" Savage said. "Driscoll is obvious. He was a man in love. Carl is equally obvious to anyone who knows him. He wanted to get the best shot for his picture and loved the adventure of it. But why did so many of your men go to retrieve one woman?"

"They liked her," Englehorn said. He suspected that some of them may have secretly fallen in love with her.

"Why?" Savage asked. Ham was now watching his big bronze friend with open interest. "Why did they like her to the extent that they'd risk their lives for her?"

"Is that really so hard for you to figure out?" Englehorn said. He tried to keep the scorn and the pain out of his voice but failed. "She's beautiful. She was very willing to entertain the crew…"

Ham and even Savage gave him a peculiar look.

"…I mean with _dancing_ and _juggling_ and _singing_," Englehorn amended hastily. "She was much better than most of the performers we've seen in various ports. Not to mention she had a kind word for everybody she talked to."

"And on the trip back?" Savage asked.

"Miss Darrow?" Englehorn said. "She was ungrate…"

Englehorn then stopped himself. That wasn't true, she _wasn't_ ungrateful.

"No," Englehorn continued. "That's not it. She didn't…"

He stopped and tried to think of what it was that was wrong. He knew it, and also knew that he was so unwilling to say it he couldn't even think of it.

"She didn't _hate_ Kong like all of you did," Savage finished.

That was _it_, Englehorn realized. He felt awful. It wasn't that she treated them badly, or was ungrateful, it was that she was also concerned about Kong, had even tried to save him from them on the shore when they were trying to capture him. The giant gorilla had caused the deaths of several crew members during their attempts to rescue Ann Darrow, and the deaths of others when they tried to capture him. Therefore, you couldn't be accepted by the crew if you didn't _hate_ Kong, even a little.

Suddenly, Captain Englehorn felt about six inches tall.

"Your feelings are understandable," Savage said. "However, I would ask you to keep something in mind. Miss Darrow may have experienced a very different Kong from the one your men encountered. And her knowledge of Kong will be very important for the success of this voyage.

"To that end, I will expect your crew to conduct themselves professionally with her. I imagine Mr. Driscoll will be keeping an eye on her. More to your men's concern, my cousin Pat will be keeping an eye on her."

"My men all greatly respect Jack Driscoll, as do I," Englehorn said. "He saved several lives. And my men can be trusted with Miss Darrow."

Well, except perhaps for Helstrom and O'Hara, and they would be very foolish indeed to try anything with Miss Darrow. They would not only cross Savage and his crew, they would cross the rest of their fellow crewmen as well.

Fortunately, Helstrom was anything but foolish.

"Good," Savage said with a nod. "I suspect that Jack Driscoll may want to travel with us as well. Do you think you will be able to accommodate him?"

Englehorn nodded.

"I am still well short of a full crew," Englehorn said. "That won't be a problem."

"Good," Savage said again. "Now, tell me where you _really _found Kong's homeland, because I am certain that it wasn't in the Southwest Pacific or the East Indian Ocean."

Savage pulled out a map. He had drawn a triangle from Miami to the Bermuda Islands to Puerto Rico.

"I suspect that the place you found 'Skull Island' was somewhere in here, am I correct?"

Englehorn was stunned. How did he _know_ that?

Englehorn nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Give me the map and I will show you the coordinates."

* * *

Denham sat and stared at the wall to his cabin. He was informed that he would be sharing the cabin with Jack Driscoll. He really didn't care. This cabin was smaller than the one he had shared with Preston during the first voyage out, which in this case meant that there were two bunks against opposite walls, and maybe two feet between them. Outside, he could hear two voices squabbling. It was, of course, Monk and Ham.

"Dibs on the window," Monk said.

"You stupid baboon," Ham retorted. "Why do you always have to have the bunk by the port hole?"

"You're right, shyster," Monk said. "I'm being unfair. You take the bunk by the window, and at night I'll throw up on you."

"Go ahead and take the far bunk, you big baby," Ham said.

"No, you're right," Monk said. "I'm being selfish. You go right ahead."

"No, after you, you primate," Ham said.

"Nope, fancy pants ambulance chasers go first on this trip," Monk replied.

If Denham hadn't been so disgusted with himself, he might have smiled to listen to the exchange. It was simply the latest version of an argument he had first heard back in 1918 upon entering the doors of a secret think tank built into the side of a mountain. None of the four men there seemed to put much stock in rank, but it was shocking at first to see a Brigadier General and a Lieutenant Colonel freely insult one another like they did. More shocking still was when Colonel Renwick, Renny, referred to the two as best friends.

Ham and Monk were still arguing, now from within their cabin, when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," Denham said.

Stooping low to enter, Doc Savage stepped into his cabin. Doc sat down on the bunk opposite him and a little cattycorner. Given the tiny size of the cabin and the large size of the man, it should have been awkward going for Doc to sit down, but he sat with the same easy grace he did everything else.

"Hello, Carl," Doc said. Doc and Denham had first met back in 1922. Denham was a fledgling filmmaker who had quickly determined the importance of film to the recording of history. _Film will allow people to see history as it actually happened, and will revolutionize humanity's knowledge of itself_, Denham would say. Denham still corresponded with his friends Ham, Monk, and Renny (Long Tom wasn't really inclined to correspond with anyone), and was aware of the sorts of adventures that they went on with Doc Savage. Denham wanted to record some of the younger Doc Savage's adventures (Doc was barely more than twenty when they first met). But when Denham made his offer to film Doc for posterity, Doc refused. _I am aware of your tendency to be single minded in your efforts, whatever they are. I can not be worried about someone trying to get the best shot when my brothers and I are fighting for our lives. _In spite of Doc's refusal, the Man of Bronze had admitted Denham into his circle of friends. He did not call Denham brother, but he did call him Carl.

Denham had gone on, of course, to become a well known filmmaker who specialized in real life adventure and travel movies. As time went on, however, Denham had insisted on filming more spectacular movies, and real life wasn't always spectacular enough.

And now, here he was, reduced to a failed sideshow barker. Denham's goal in life was always to be famous for doing something important, and in trying to reach that goal several people had died (Crystal's shattered body returned to his mind's eye) for nothing but a sideshow. Now, here he was talking to someone who was famous for doing _nothing_ that _wasn't_ important! Denham felt like he was exactly what Englehorn had called him, a cockroach.

"Where did you find the map to the Plateau?" Doc asked.

"The Plateau?" Denham asked, then was immediately sorry he did. He was talking to Doc Savage, after all. Of course he would know!

Doc just sat quietly and calmly with his immense arms crossed.

"I found it among the papers of Lord Roxton," Denham confessed.

"How did you get access to them?" Doc asked, an angry edge creeping into his voice.

"I…I talked to Roxton's ex-wife," Denham said. "She's the only known surviving relative by any stretch of the imagination. I was making a film you see, that would contrast the false claims of the Challenger Expedition with the real wonders of the Amazon, to show that reality is sometimes every bit as wonderful as fiction."

"But instead you found a map that put 'the Plateau' not up the Amazon, but in the middle of the west Atlantic," Doc said.

"Yes," Denham said. He did not add that he had previously suspected that there was something to the story told by Roxton, Summerlee, Malone, and Challenger when he talked to two supposed survivors of their expedition, one through a Brazilian Portuguese translator, the other through a Haitian French translator.

Suddenly, Denham heard an odd sound: A trilling that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Denham had heard from Monk, Ham, and Renny about this odd habit of Doc's. He turned and looked at Doc, and his blood suddenly ran cold. Doc Savage's expression was no longer impassive, it was extremely angry. Denham thought Doc might kill him with his bare hands then and there. But then, as he saw the way Doc's eyes looked past him and appeared to be focused on something far, far away, well beyond the walls of his cabin, he realized that Doc Savage was very angry at someone who was no longer there.

Then, as suddenly as the trilling began, it ended. Doc blinked, and then he looked at Denham as if he wasn't expecting him to be there.

"Are you all right, Doc?" Denham asked in spite of himself.

"Yes," Doc said. "Where is the map now?"

"I…I'm sorry," Denham said. "It blew overboard right before the mists showed up."

"That's too bad," Doc said. "We could have used it."

"It didn't show much, other than where to find the place," Denham said. "It showed a little bit of coastline, but whoever drew it assumed it was an island."

Doc nodded.

"Challenger drew it then," he said. "He would have assumed that it was an island. But I doubt it is."

"What do you mean?" Denham said.

Doc didn't answer. Instead he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Out of the wallet he pulled out a somewhat tattered photograph and handed it to Denham.

Denham looked at it and immediately recognized Doc's father, with his sun darkened skin, bushy mustache and full head of white hair. He was an impressive figure. Denham figured that this picture must have been taken not long before the elder Savage died.

"Does he look familiar?" Doc asked.

"Well yes, of course," Denham said. "Your father was almost as well known as you."

"Only after he died," Doc said with a slight undertone of bitterness. "His name was known, but his face wasn't. That was the picture that was used on his obituary."

"I met him once, remember?" Denham said. It was in 1924, and he had met Monk, Ham, and Doc while filming in Tibet. The elder Savage was with them.

"Yes, but that's not what I meant," Doc said. He pulled another photograph out of his pocket and handed it to Denham. Denham looked at the photograph and instantly recognized it. It was of a younger man, dark haired, clean shaven, and sun bronzed. It was a picture of Lord Roxton. Denham suddenly couldn't breathe as he realized that the picture of Lord Roxton was a picture of Clark Savage Senior as a younger man.

"I can't believe I…I never realized…" Denham stammered.

"Don't tell anyone," Doc said. "I haven't even told my brothers yet, much less Pat, and I want to be the one to tell them."

"You're the son of Lord Roxton!" Denham exclaimed in a whisper. "I can't _believe_ it!"

"My father gave up that name before I was born," Doc said. "I didn't find out myself until after he died who he really was."

"So, did your father ever tell you about Skull Island?" Denham asked.

"He never mentioned Skull Island, which I gather is your name for the place," Doc said. "He never mentioned 'the Plateau' either. Once or twice, however, when I was very young, he mentioned a 'land behind the mists', beyond something called he called the 'Bermuda Gate'."

"What did he say about it?" Denham asked.

"He said that it was the place where I was born," Doc said.

**I don't know if anyone reading this is familiar with Doc Savage, who was not only an immensely popular character during his time in the 1930's and 1940's, but was also the chosen subject of a number of**_** professional**_** writers of fan fiction in the 1960's and 1970's, as well as the source for a couple of excellent licensed comic books in the 1970's and 1980's. One of the most comprehensive works of Doc Savage "fan fiction" was a pseudo-biography by writer Phillip Jose Farmer (**_**Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life**_**). Farmer hypothesized that an Arthur Conan Doyle character, James Wilder of the Sherlock Holmes story **_**The Adventure of the Priory School**_**, was Doc's father. Ironically, I am identifying a **_**different **_**Conan Doyle character as Doc's father for this story, because it pleases me to do so. ;-) **

**And yes, I also realize that I am playing **_**very**_** fast and loose with Conan Doyle's continuity. For example, for this to work the Challenger expedition had to have taken place no less than one-and-a-half decades before Conan Doyle wrote it (and he wrote it as a contemporary story in 1911-1912).**

**For those of you who are still with me, things will pick up next chapter as the Venture gets underway and…**

Chapter 6 The Passenger Awakes!

Three guesses which passenger that is, and the first two don't count!


	6. Chapter 6 The Passenger Awakes!

**Among the already mentioned standard fan fiction disclaimers, I need to mention that the copyright for Doc Savage is currently held by Bantam books. If you are interested in Doc Savage, the original stories were republished by Bantam in the '60's, '70's and '80's, and you can probably find them in used book stores. **

**I apologize in advance for the phlebotenum (the name Joss Whedon gave to the pseudo-scientific babble that was sometimes used to explain what was going on in **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer**_**). I've tried to edit it down, but the explanations from Doc and Carl about the relationship between "Skull Island", the Challenger expedition, and the background of the Savage family will all play an important part in the progression of this story. **

**And oh yes, Captain Sparrow is of course the property of Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer, et. al. **

Chapter 6 The Passenger Awakes!

Long Tom Roberts was relieved to be back on the Venture working in the radio room. The electrical engineer was adding a shortwave radio next to the more standard Marconi wireless telegraphy device. This shortwave radio was designed to communicate with the Rumbler. Inside the Hildago warehouse, Renny was assisting Doc in creating special remote controlled miniature dirigibles that would allow the Rumbler to remain in radio contact with the ship by reflecting the signal around obstacles such as mountains. Johnny seemed to be boggled at the concept of a mountainous land hidden in the middle of the Atlantic, but Long Tom didn't waste time worrying about such things. He was just interested in making sure the equipment was prepared for whatever they might encounter. Besides, _Doc_ seemed to be confident that there would be mountains in Kong's homeland, and that was enough for Long Tom.

The shopping trip, as expected, was an experience that Long Tom would have gladly skipped. Long Tom's idea of shopping for clothes was to go to the cheapest second hand shop, quickly grab the first pair of pants his size he could find, haggle the store owner down to half the price he was asking, and go home (Why couldn't that old clothes horse Ham have gone instead? The answer, Long Tom was forced to conclude, was obvious. If _Ham_ had accompanied the women shopping, they wouldn't have returned for _months_!). Fortunately, Pat already had the clothes she needed and so when Long Tom drove her to her apartment she simply packed her bags. Ann Darrow, on the other hand, apparently had nothing much to wear outside of the white dress she was already wearing, so Pat insisted on taking her to the swankiest expedition outfitter in town (Long Tom didn't even know that there was an expedition outfitter that could be considered _swanky_!).While Long Tom sat and stewed in infinite and impatient boredom, Pat fussed over Ann Darrow and every outfit she tried on. The two women seemed to be becoming fast friends, and their laughter (and to be honest, occasional outright giggling, particularly when they looked at Long Tom's sour expression) soon got on the electrician's nerves. Then, just when Long Tom thought they were finally finished, Pat indicated that she thought it was necessary that Ann Darrow have luggage as well. Purchasing the right luggage took two more hours of shopping. By the time they got back to the Venture, even Doc looked annoyed and impatient for Long Tom to get to work on the radios. An impatient Doc Savage was so unusual that Long Tom was immediately spooked. After all, what on this Earth could make _Doc_ uneasy? Unable to think of an answer to his question, Long Tom dealt with his sense of foreboding the same way he dealt with everything else that bothered him. He threw himself into his work.

Long Tom finished installing the shortwave and turned it on.

"Testing," he said. "Long Tom calling Johnny."

"I aurally perceive the electro-magnetic generated auditory reproduction of your articulation," Johnny said. Johnny was in the Rumbler. Monk was also in the Rumbler after creating a unique fuel mixture that Doc said would be advisable once they reached "Skull Island" or whatever they were going to call the place. Ham was meeting with Major LaSalle and the National Guard unit on the docks. It was somewhat unnerving to see all the cannons and artillery pointed in their direction, but no one was taking any chances on Kong escaping again.

* * *

Nils Helstrom was angry. Truth to tell, however, he was also angry the previous day, and the month before that, and the decade before that. Indeed, Helstrom was angry the day he was born. When he was a boy, he took out his anger on smaller children and small animals (for the animals, the consequences of young Helstrom's anger were lethal). Later in life, he took it out on his wife and his children, at least until her "accidental" death, after which the children wisely ran away.

Helstrom was only good at two things. One was sailing. He was good enough at sailing, and at selling his superior officers on his talents, that he rapidly moved up the ranks as he went from ship to ship. Eventually, his last captain convinced a shipping company to give Helstrom his own command. Even though he had a lot of turnover in his crew, he probably would have remained a captain if it wasn't for the other thing he was good at, drinking himself into a stupor whenever he reached dock and gambling away his money, and the money loaned to him by anyone else foolish enough to trust him (such as the money his employer gave him for the purchase of ship supplies). Soon, much to his former crew's relief, they had a new captain, and Helstrom was drunkenly wandering the streets of Singapore until Captain Josef Englehorn found him, took pity on him, and hired him. Helstrom proved to be a competent member of the crew. He also managed to stay away from the booze and for the most part learned to reign in his temper with his fellow crewmates (not so much because he regretted his previous actions, but because he had finally learned the concept behind "catching more flies with honey"). He eventually "befriended" another crewmember named Red O'Hara. Helstrom considered Red a loud mouthed and stupid braggart, but he was also a loyal friend. Helstrom didn't personally understand the concept of loyalty, but he appreciated it when it came from others and was directed towards him. Red was a former heavyweight boxer, and was the almost champion at several docks. He was tough enough that Helstrom felt protected, and therefore free to start picking on some of the weaker, less popular crewmembers like Jimmy Hayes (particularly since the _first _Mr. Hayes was no longer around to protect him).

Helstrom considered the disastrous voyage to Skull Island to be a real opportunity. Englehorn's crew was loyal to him, but the loss of half the crew, especially Hayes, had been fortuitous indeed. Englehorn would have to hire new crew, and their loyalty would be up for grabs.

Although Englehorn was not _truly_ a reckless man, his reputation on the docks spoke otherwise. Englehorn specialized in transporting dangerous wild animal cargo. Not only that, during the "Prohibition" he was not adverse to smuggling foreign liquor to American shores. Because he hauled dangerous and yet valuable cargo, not always legally, Englehorn carried an arsenal on his ship. People on the docks knew this, and it added to Englehorn's reputation as a man who was not necessarily the safest captain to sail with. The new crew would be skittish, and probably already desperate if they were considering hiring onto a ship with the reputation of the Venture. And skittish and desperate men were easily manipulated.

Most attractive of all, Englehorn _owned_ the Venture, and therefore if Helstrom were to somehow take over as its Captain, this time no one could fire him. All Helstrom had to do was be patient, build friendships among the new crew, and wait for his opportunity.

At least that was the plan until Doc Savage and his men came on board, and brought the damn giant gorilla back with them.

Helstrom could be a patient man, but his patience had limits. Those limits had now been reached.

* * *

Monk climbed out of the Rumbler. One of Monk's quirks was claustrophobia, and being inside the Rumbler was an intensely unpleasant experience for him. Outside of the Rumbler wasn't much better, however. The entire smaller hold, except where the Rumbler was sitting, was filled with foodstuffs, particularly fruits and vegetation. The food would have been enough to feed a platoon of regular gorillas, but Johnny estimated that an awake and active Kong could probably go through the entire food stocks brought in for him in three days. Dwarfed by the food for Kong, the food stocks for the crew and passengers sat in a corner. There was enough to feed everyone on board (excluding the big gorilla, of course) for several months, Monk estimated, even with his, Renny's and Johnny's appetites.

"I gotta get outta here," Monk said.

"Doc desires that we maintain our presence within this enclosed span," Johnny said. "His intentions include an imminent encounter between himself and those of us most closely affiliated with him."

"Yeah," Monk said. "Well, I hope he meets with us soon."

* * *

Ham and Major LaSalle saluted one another. As soon as Kong was captured and successfully transported to the Venture, Ham's command was ended. LaSalle was now under the commands of the current and former governors of New York, and was there to insure that Kong did not escape back to shore.

"You knew what Savage's plan was all along, didn't you?" LaSalle said.

"Not the particulars, but yes Major, I knew that Doc intended to capture Kong if at all possible," Ham said.

"Wouldn't have made a difference," LaSalle said with a shrug. "We wouldn't have brought down the big ape without a lot more men and weapons than we had. He was too quick. Bet the airplanes would have gotten him, though."

Ham made no argument. He had heard some of the stories about the things that G-8 and his men had fought during and after the war. Kong would not have been as far outside their experience as LaSalle would have thought.

The Venture's horn sounded.

"Well, take care, Major," Ham said.

"You too, General," LaSalle said.

They shook hands. Ham turned and jogged up the gangplank. Twenty minutes later, the Venture was headed out to open sea.

* * *

Doc called a meeting with his "brothers" in the small hold by the Rumbler. Renny was surprised to find Carl Denham there. Denham was a friend of theirs and of Doc's, true, but he was not really a _close_ friend. Denham for his part did not look like the brash promoter who was always talking up his latest project. He was quiet and stood away from Doc.

"Brothers," Doc said. "I need to talk to you about this upcoming mission. Part of it, you already know, but other parts of it you don't.

"I have three objectives for this expedition. First is to return Kong home. I have already explained to Renny why I think this is important, and I think Johnny and Ham have an idea why I think this is important. Suffice it to say, Kong was done a grave injustice when he was kidnapped and brought to New York.

"The second objective for this expedition, you can all guess. We are all scientists and adventurers, and the opportunity to explore the land Carl here has called Skull Island is just too fascinating and important to pass up. That being said, very few people have been to where we are going and come back."

Monk raised his hand.

"Just where _are_ we going, Doc?" he asked in his high voice.

"Other people have been there before?" Johnny asked.

"Oh yes," Doc said. "You've heard of some of them. One of them was Monk's uncle."

"We already know the ape's uncle has been there," Ham piped up. "He's sleeping it off in the big hold as we speak."

"Don't start, Ham," said Doc with the slightest tone of disapproval. "This is not the time to indulge in your ongoing jibe exchange with Monk."

Ham immediately ducked his head and looked contrite. Monk leaned his head in and whispered to his best friend:

"It was an _obvious_ crack, shyster, and even _I_ gotta admit, _I _wouldn't have been able to pass it up in your shoes."

Doc crossed his arms and silently looked at them both.

"Sorry, Doc," Monk said, his voice even higher and much quieter than usual.

"I am, of course, referring to Monk's maternal uncle, George Edward Challenger," Doc said.

Renny felt a thrill deep in his stomach. The Challenger Expedition claimed to have found a land of prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs, on a plateau in South America! The recent Denham expedition also claimed to have found a land of prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs, but this time in the eastern Indian Ocean. Was there a connection?

"You're talking about 'the Plateau', or Maple White Land?" Johnny asked incredulously. "But that was _proven_ to be a humbug…"

"_No_, Johnny, what was proven to be untrue was the presence of a plateau in South America that was home to prehistoric creatures," Doc said. "That lack of proof was actually due to the fact that Challenger, my father, and others deliberately hid the true location of their adventures. I'll explain why they did what they did in a moment. But 'the Plateau' itself is very real, it is simply _not_ in South America any more than 'Skull Island' is really in the eastern Indian Ocean."

"Wait, your _father_?" Ham asked.

"Yes, although at the time of the Challenger Expedition, he went under a _different_ name," Doc said. "Lord John Roxton."

"I'll be Superamalgamated!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Holy cow!" Renny exclaimed.

The rest of Doc's aides were too shocked to say anything at all.

"Lord John Roxton, the man who would become my father, accompanied George Challenger on an expedition to 'The Plateau'," Doc said after a moment's silence. "Also accompanying them were Edward Malone, a journalist who wrote an account of the trip, and Leo Summerlee, an anatomist. According to all four men, they visited 'the Plateau' in South America and found prehistoric creatures there, including pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and even 'ape men'.

"And in fact, I doubt that what they found were true 'ape men' at all. I have a suspicion as to what those creatures actually were. If I am right, they are actually very closely linked to Kong."

Doc leaned against the Rumbler.

"The reason why Challenger and his associates fabricated the tale of a plateau in the Amazon is because the reality was too incredible to be believed. I suspect Professor Challenger eventually planned to reveal the true location of the prehistoric land he found once he provided enough physical evidence to prove it existed. But, as we all know, the eventual consensus of the scientific community was that the expedition was a fraud. Summerlee, who went as a skeptic, retired after his reputation as a scientist was ruined. Challenger was already regarded as too much of an eccentric to be professionally damaged by the allegations, but we all know he _supposedly _died of apoplexy soon afterwards. Lord John Roxton and Edward Malone both supposedly went on an expedition back to the Plateau, but vanished, and were never seen in South America. What you now know is that Roxton re-emerged in this country as Clark Savage Senior, an explorer who soon after his appearance went to Harvard Medical School and with surprising swiftness earned his MD. A little more than a decade later my father's supposed brother, Alex Savage, emerged with a wife and daughter and settled in Canada. Alex Savage was actually Edward Malone."

Renny now felt more confused than ever.

"You mean that your dad and Pat's dad were _not_ related?" Renny asked.

"Right," Doc says.

"But you _**look**_ like cousins," Long Tom objected. "In fact, you _practically_ look like brother and sister."

"We _**are **_cousins," Doc said. "But in spite of our having the same last name, and our fathers being publicly identified as brothers, or cousins, depending on who you talked to, we are actually _maternal_ cousins."

"Does _Pat _know this?" asked Ham.

"Yes," Doc said. "At least she knows that we are actually related through our mothers. I don't know what she knows about our fathers' backgrounds. Whatever she doesn't know, I want to be the one to tell her."

After a moment Johnny spoke.

"Doc, where did your mother and Pat's mother come from?" he asked.

"They were…_natives_ of the land the Challenger Expedition visited," Doc said. "Which brings me to my final objective for this expedition, a personal one.

"As you know, my mother was supposedly lost at sea. However, I believe my mother may actually have simply chosen to stay behind. My father falsified his personal records to create the identity of Clark Savage Senior. I still really don't know why he did that, or why Edward Malone did the same thing when he came to Canada with his wife, my mother's sister, and infant daughter. As a result, I have no reason to suspect that the report of my mother drowning at sea was a true report. Her supposed 'death at sea' was an explanation as to why Father had an infant son without a mother."

Doc's face was grim, and Renny thought for a moment that his eyes might actually be a trifle wet, but the engineer decided he must have been imagining things.

"As a boy, I begged my father to tell me what actually happened to my mother," Doc said. "He never talked about her, you understand, he had no pictures of her, no writings or documentations of her in any way except for a marriage and death certificate, and even as a socially isolated boy I knew that something was wrong with that. When my father finally relented, he said that as far as he knew she was well, but had obligations which required her to stay behind. He then told me about the place where she lived, the 'land behind the mists', a place that was utterly inaccessible. After my father died, I searched through every possession he had for clues about my mother and the 'land behind the mists'. I found clues, but had no idea where to actually look.

"That is, until Carl here brought Kong to New York."

Johnny raised his hand.

"Doc," he said. "There is something I still don't get. How can there be a land in the middle of the Atlantic that supports dinosaurs and giant gorillas?"

Instead of answering, Doc turned to Denham.

"Carl," he said. "Tell them what you told me."

Denham swallowed nervously, but stepped closer to Doc and his aides. As he began to speak, his voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Back in '28, I was researching a documentary that would contrast the Challenger Expedition with the wonders of the actual Amazon. My crew and I filmed the footage we wanted, and when we came back to Rio I went to a bar and talked to an old sailor through our translator. He asked me what we were doing and I told him. This man, Eduardo deCosta, became extremely angry, insisting that the Challenger Expedition really happened. When he told me that the actual 'Plateau' was located out in the middle of the Atlantic south of Bermuda, I thought the man was nuts. But I was intrigued. So I tried to research a little. Challenger and Summerlee were dead, Roxton and Malone had vanished. Challenger's widow, humiliated by his final disgrace, had destroyed her husband's notes, Summerlee's house had burned down soon after his death, with all of _his _papers inside, and Malone's account of course had already been published. So I went to Roxton's ex-wife, who when he was declared dead had inherited his estate. I didn't find much, but I did find a map that located the Land of the Skulls in the middle of the Atlantic, just like deCosta had said. That intrigued me some more, enough to do further research, and I found out two things:

"First of all, there were a surprising number of references to a wondrous land in the middle of the Atlantic. They go back at least as far as references to Atlantis. There are the stories of Sinbad and Odysseus encountering giants and incredible beasts on vast hidden islands. An 18th Century Caribbean pirate by the name of Sparrow supposedly anchored his ship and hid his treasure in a 'land behind the mists'.

"Then secondly, there are the unexplained disappearances. A surprising number of ships have disappeared in the middle of the Atlantic, particularly east of Florida and south of Bermuda, over the years, and these disappearances seem to be unrelated to the hurricane season."

"Excuse me," Monk interrupted, his voice angry. "You're telling me that you went through Doc's _dad's_ stuff? That stuff wasn't _**yours**_ to go through. By all rights it belongs to _**Doc**_!"

"Monk," Doc said. "Carl has only just found out that Roxton was my father. In 1928, he assumed what the _world _assumed; that Lord Roxton had died on an expedition leaving no heirs."

Doc looked at Carl.

"Continue," he said.

Renny saw Denham look uncomfortably at Monk. Monk, in return, wouldn't look at Denham at all. Something obviously had happened involving the two of them. Renny resolved to ask Ham about it when he had the chance.

Denham nervously cleared his throat.

"The writings of Captain Sparrow, the 18th Century Pirate, were especially intriguing," Denham said. "Sparrow retired in what would later become north Florida with an enormous amount of wealth. They said he had a couple of unusual pets. One of them was a monkey of some sort, but the other one was 'a very unusual bird', a 'bird with teeth'.

"According to Sparrow, the 'bird' with teeth came from the same land behind the mists where he had hidden his treasure. The land that was perfect for hiding treasure because it was a 'ghost land', which only appeared when the mists did."

"Wait a minute," Johnny said. "A 'bird with teeth' or a feathered _reptile_? The _**Quetzalcoatl**_?"

"I've wondered the same thing, Johnny," Doc said.

"But a land that _**vanishes**_?" Johnny asked, addressing his question to Doc and essentially ignoring Denham.

"Not just yet Johnny," said Doc. "Carl, please continue."

"Apparently, Dr. Challenger discovered the same material from Captain Sparrow that I did," Denham said. "Roxton's map depicted several 'entry points' marked by drawings of clouds representing mists. While I was in St. Augustine researching the old Sparrow papers, my man Preston found an old Haitian man who through his son's translation told me almost exactly the same story about the Challenger expedition as Eduardo deCosta did. This man, Jacques Veneir, was on the crew of the ship that brought Challenger and his party to the land. Veneir saw the 'pterodactyl', which he described as a giant bat.

"But what was really interesting was what he said about the journey. Veneir said that they had to sail around the _exact same location_, in the _**open ocean**_, for weeks, until they had to go back to shore to refuel. Then, Challenger had the ship go back to the same location to search _again_. If the captain hadn't been so scared of Challenger, he probably would have quit. A week and two days after they returned the second time, they found the mists, and the land behind them. A land that was not there before the mists moved in. That land was the place Challenger described as 'the Plateau', a natural history marvel. A land _frozen_ in evolutionary time! That was when I became convinced that Skull Island existed. As a documentary filmmaker, I simply _had_ to go and find the place, especially since I started having trouble holding onto my investors. They weren't much on silent safari and travel documentaries when the talkies came out. But if I could film live dinosaurs, I'd be back on top for sure!"

Renny felt a wave of sympathy for Carl Denham. One thing the filmmaker shared with Doc and his crew was a thirst for adventure!

Suddenly, a low but very loud moan reverberated through the ship. Denham's eyes went very wide. Renny saw Monk, Ham, Johnny, and even Long Tom look uneasy as well, not surprising since the big engineer felt the hairs rise up on the back of his neck! Doc, however, simply shrugged as if the sound was the most expected thing in the world.

"Carl, brothers," Doc said. "I think we'll have to pick up on this discussion another time. I have a patient in need of attention."

With that, Doc turned and walked out of the smaller hold.

* * *

"So imagine kicking _through_ the board, like _**this**_!" Pat Savage said. As she did so, she kicked a wooden slat on a storage palette in two.

Ann Darrow nodded. Then she stood in a ready position and with a yell kicked through another slat on the palette.

"Very good, Ann," Pat said. "You did it."

Pat was very impressed. Ann was a vaudeville performer, an experienced physical comedienne and dancer, and as such was already a very talented athlete. However, even Pat was impressed with Ann's instinctive sense of balance, which was so similar to her own or Doc's.

"Don't forget," Pat said. "You're going to teach me to juggle."

"Oh yeah, sure," Ann said. "I just don't want to be the kidnap victim again this time."

"Probably isn't going to happen," Pat said. "After all, the guy they wanted to sacrifice you to is lying right there."

So saying, Pat pointed to the sleeping Kong. Ann followed her point, and then her eyes went wide.

"Pat…" she said, her voice trailing off. Pat turned to look, and her blood turned to ice.

Kong's eyes were open and looking right at them!

Then Kong moaned.

* * *

_When he opened his eyes, he was first aware of the slightest of rocking motions, followed by the familiar scent of salt water. He was in the ocean skimming craft again. For a few moments, as he was recovering his wits, Kong wondered if he in fact had dreamed the whole thing about the land of the little apes. Then he saw the two little females. One was the little yellow headed tufted ape. The other appeared to be the little bronze ape he recalled from the very tall structure, but she was smaller than he remembered and female, which reinforced the idea that his experience in the land of the little apes was all a dream. The female little bronze ape was clearly frightened, but nevertheless courageously attempted to move between him and the little yellow headed ape. _

_Then, a hole opened in the wall and the familiar male bronze ape walked in. The yellow headed ape turned and spoke to him in their peculiar sound segmenting language. _

_Kong felt angry, and gave voice to that anger with a roar. It had not been a dream! He was now once __**again**__ a prisoner in the ocean skimming craft! The male little bronze ape reached into his coverings, perhaps to pull out some more of the little balls that put Kong to sleep! Kong's anger grew. _

* * *

Englehorn's blood ran cold as he heard Kong roar from the large hold. He turned and looked at Helstrom. Helstrom was clearly terrified, his eyes so wide that they seemed to bug out from his face. Englehorn suspected that his expression was no different.

"Get the weapons," Englehorn said.

* * *

Doc watched Kong closely, his hands resting on an anesthetic grenade. He didn't want to throw it. He wanted to earn Kong's trust, but the giant gorilla was clearly angry. Given the giant ape's enormous strength, Doc knew he could not afford any miscalculation. Kong could probably tear a hole even in the steel side of the ship in less than a minute.

"Miss Darrow," Doc said. "I need you to show him that there are no hard feelings between us."

Ann Darrow looked at him.

"Then take your hand out from under your jacket," Ann Darrow said. "I think he remembers the gas bombs you used to knock him out."

"Oh c'mon sister, I doubt th…" Pat started to say, but her voice was drowned out by another Kong roar. It was deafening.

"Actually," Doc said after Kong finished his roar. "I suspect that Miss Darrow's description of his memory is quite accurate."

Doc wasn't certain that Pat could hear him after Kong's roar. His own ears were ringing. He only hoped that Ann Darrow would keep her wits about her.

* * *

_Kong watched in disbelief as the little yellow headed ape approached the male bronze ape and touched him gently on the arm. Apparently, they had reconciled, and the little yellow ape trusted him! The little female bronze ape continued to watch him warily, indeed fearfully, but made no hostile move. The male bronze ape removed his hand from under his coverings, and it was empty. _

_Interesting. _

_Kong remembered how he had pursued the bronze ape around the very tall structure. Then he remembered becoming extremely tired and falling, and yet the sensation of falling didn't last long. _

_He had chased the bronze ape to the other side of the very tall structure. That was key. _

_Obviously, there had been something on the other side of the structure. Something Kong didn't see from__** his**__ side. Something that caught him! That meant the bronze ape had wanted him alive! The little yellow headed ape appeared to trust the bronze ape, and she was the closest thing Kong had to a friend left in the world. _

_It was hard to breath in this heavy, stifling world, but Kong tried to take a deep breath anyway. He might as well trust the bronze ape as well, at least for now. _

……………………………………………………………………………………………….Doc heard the footsteps coming down the stairs from behind him. He quickly turned to see Englehorn, Jimmy Hayes, and other crewmembers carrying Tommy guns.

Doc held up his hand and spoke with all of the calm force he could muster.

"Things are under control," Doc said. "Your weapons are not needed."

One of the crewmen, a tall, thin faced man who Doc found himself immediately disliking, turned to Englehorn and loudly said, "Savage let the big ape wake up! He'll tear the whole damn ship apart unless we put him down _**now**_!"

The other crewmen muttered their agreement.

Englehorn turned towards Doc.

"I have to agree with my men, Doctor Savage," Englehorn said. "It may take a few days to get to 'Skull Island', but it may also take months. We can't afford to have this big ape awake and angry."

"I won't let you pass," Doc said. "We are at a delicate juncture here."

"He's talking for me too," Pat said, stepping forward so that she was standing next to her cousin. Doc heard Kong snort behind him. He hoped that the sight of the guns did not anger the great ape.

"And for me," Ann Darrow said, stepping forward to stand between Doc and Pat.

From the top of the stairs, another voice spoke.

"Doc also relays our sentiments on the matter as well," Johnny said. Doc heard a sound like a mallet being driven into meat. Doc knew that Renny had just slammed one massive fist into the palm of his other massive hand. It was a ritual Doc had witnessed many times before, and it was an intimidating display.

"This is stupid!" the thin faced man exclaimed. "_We're_ the ones with the guns!"

Englehorn shook his head.

"No, Helstrom," he said. "If we start shooting or even waving these guns around, Kong is likely to get very angry, and if he gets angry he will tear the ship apart before we can stop him."

Englehorn sighed before continuing.

"Take the guns back to the armory, and resume your posts."

"Thank you, Captain Englehorn," Doc said gratefully.

After his men had left, Englehorn started to ascend the steps, but then turned and looked at Doc.

"Allowing Kong to wake _here_," Englehorn said, shaking his head in evident disbelief. "Doctor Savage, I feel seriously concerned about this situation."

"Understandable," Doc said. "I ask that you trust me in this."

"I have little choice," Englehorn replied. "But I swear this to you. If that big ape at some time wrecks this ship, I will find you before we all die, and I will kill you myself."

Doc couldn't think of an appropriate response to that, so he didn't say anything at all.

Englehorn turned and ascended the stairs. Johnny, ducking down, stepped rapidly down the stairs with an agility that greatly belied his awkward appearance.

"Doc, is everything OK?" Johnny asked.

"It's fine," Doc said. "However, I suggest you and the others keep an eye on the Venture crew to make certain that they don't try anything rash.

"Oh, and bring Kong some of his food. I suspect he is famished."

Next

Chapter 7

Enter, the **Black Panther**!


	7. Chapter 7 Enter, the Black Panther!

**Note: I have gone back and edited Chapter 4 to tighten it up a bit. I felt that I repeated myself a bit too much with regards to the connection between Doyle's Lost World and Carl Denham's subsequent expedition to Kong's homeland. I apologize to and thank those readers who slogged their way through the repetitive phlebotenum and are still with me. Hopefully for newcomers some of the material in Chapters 5 and 6 will now read a little fresher. **

**As mentioned earlier, this story also makes use of Marvel's **_**Black Panther**_** and his kingdom of The Wakanda. The version used here is based on the Marvel Knights version re-imagined by writer Reginald Hundlin and artist John Romita, Jr. (The Black Panther was originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). From what I can tell, I place the Wakanda farther north in the African continent than Hundlin does, and also make it land locked (Hundlin gave the Wakanda a sea shore). This is so I can connect the Wakanda to mountain gorillas, Michael Crichton's **_**Congo**_**, and **_**The Mighty Joe Young **_**as re-imagined in the Ron Underwood directed, Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner written 1998 version (original story by the same guy who created Kong, Merian C. Cooper). Some of these connections will be made later in the story. With all that in mind, here we go.**

Chapter 7 Enter, the **Black Panther**!

_Day four after the awakening of Kong:_

Jack Driscoll was bone tired, but he still woke up when Carl Denham tromped into their shared cabin. Denham smelled, as he did for the past three days, of Kong dung.

Before the Venture was underway, Driscoll and Denham both separately approached Captain Englehorn and volunteered to work for their passage. Although Doc Savage had paid for both of their passages, since he was still half a crew short Englehorn gladly accepted both offers. However, Driscoll's and Denham's experiences were widely different. Englehorn had Driscoll work with the rest of the crew, doing the same sorts of simple jobs and providing the same sort of assistance he did on the previous return voyage from "Skull Island". Denham, on the other hand, was assigned the worst jobs Englehorn could find, not the least of which was cleaning up after Kong. Since Kong's droppings were half as tall as Denham himself, not to mention up to 5 feet long, that job alone was massive.

But Denham never protested. He simply did the jobs he was given, and refused to take a break unless Englehorn himself took pity on him and told him to stop and rest. The crew of the Venture respected the way Denham did his jobs without complaint and Driscoll, who was _fully_ accepted by the crew thanks to his heroism on the earlier voyage, heard the tone of respect that began to arise in the crew's discussions about Carl Denham.

Denham tried to move quietly in their tiny and cramped cabin. He froze when Driscoll rolled over and looked at him.

"Hello, Carl," Driscoll said.

"Oh, hi Jack," Denham said. "Sorry to wake you."

"That's OK," Driscoll said. "I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"About Ann?" Denham asked.

"Yeah," Driscoll said. "How…how is she doing?"

"She's worried because Doc's worried," Denham said. "Kong's not eating much, is breathing harder, and doesn't seem to have much energy. Doc says he won't be able to survive much longer in this world."

" '_This_ world'?" Driscoll asked.

"_You_ were there, Jack," Denham said. "Didn't things seem to be real different on Skull Island? I mean more than just being some other place. Like it _was _another world?"

Driscoll nodded.

"I felt _stronger_ there," Driscoll said. "At first I thought it was the adrenaline and worrying about Ann, but…you're right, things were different there. And I remember Englehorn saying something about how long the days and nights were."

Denham started to take off his clothes.

"I'm going to wash up," he said. "I'm sorry I am stinking up the cabin."

"Don't worry about it," Driscoll said. "Why do you let Englehorn saddle you with the worst jobs, Carl? He shouldn't blame you for the way things turned out. He is just as much responsible for what happened with Kong as you are. He could have told you no."

Denham chuckled. Then the chuckle turned into a laugh. Denham broke it off when Monk started pounding on the wall.

"Shuddup in there!" Monk yelled in his deepest voice. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"_None_ of us are trying to sleep _now_, thanks to your dim witted bellowing," Ham grumbled.

"Don't _you_ start, shyster!" Monk retorted. They continued to squabble, but they subsequently kept their voices down.

Denham shook his head and looked at Driscoll.

"Jack, _Englehorn _didn't assign me those jobs," Denham said. "I _requested_ them."

Driscoll was startled.

"Why did you do _that_?" he asked. "As penance?"

"Yeah, in part," Denham said. "But most of all, I simply figure it's the least I can do, after all the misery I've caused."

Denham sighed and sat on his bed.

"I'm never going to get the image of Crystal Evans out of my mind, you know," he said.

"Crystal Evans?" Driscoll asked.

"The girl who substituted for Ann," Denham said. "The girl who would still be alive if I had just left Kong on the island."

"Carl, while it's true you endangered that girl, _Kong _killed her," Driscoll said. "Not you."

"He didn't _mean_ to," Denham replied. "She wasn't Ann, and he just tossed her aside."

"I was there, Carl," Driscoll said. "I saw what he did. He's a crazed animal. He threw her away like garbage."

"He was _disappointed_, Jack," Denham said. "He thought Crystal _was_ Ann, his only friend in the world, at least _our_ world. When he tossed Crystal, he was preoccupied with his disappointment, he wasn't _trying_ to hurt her. Did you know when he was outside he picked up other girls looking for Ann, and he was much more careful with them?"

"Again, Carl," Driscoll replied. "I was _there_. Sure he put the other women down pretty gently, but then I saw him attack a trolley _full_ of innocent people. And you saw how he came after me."

"Maybe he thought the trolley was something else," Denham said. "And we know why he was mad at you. On the other hand, I'm surprised Kong hasn't squashed me by now. _I'm_ the one who put him on display. _I'm_ the one who stood in front of him and threw chloroform in his face."

"How _does_ he respond to you?" Driscoll asked.

"He watches me a little when I come in and start to shovel his…," Denham said, his voice trailing off. "But then he ignores me and watches Ann or Doc or Pat. Or he sticks his head up through the top hatch and looks out over the deck or the ocean. Sometimes, he makes these deep rumbling sounds that make my whole body vibrate. I swear he's trying to talk to the whales or something. It's the damndest thing."

"At least you _can_ go down there," Driscoll grumbled. "I don't dare go down there and see Ann. I'm afraid Kong'll turn on her at any time, and if he knew_ I_ was on this ship…"

"He _already_ knows you're on the ship, Jack," Denham said.

"_**What**_?" Driscoll exclaimed in alarm. "Carl, if he sees me, he might tear apart the ship to try to get to me!"

"When Doc first opened the big hatch to the main hold, he neglected to tell Englehorn what he was doing," Denham said. "That sure made Englehorn angry as hell when he heard about it, by the way. Anyway, Kong stuck his head out, looked up on deck, and there you were, about 50 feet away with your back turned. Englehorn has since made arrangements to have you _below_ decks when the hatch is opened, but you _were_ out there that first time, and he _did_ see you. I thought you knew."

"W…what did Kong do when he saw me?" Driscoll asked.

"He ducked his head back down into the hold and didn't look out again for hours," Denham said. "And I swear he looked embarrassed."

* * *

Jimmy Hayes normally liked to go on wireless duty, but not when Helstrom had steering duty in the pilot room. Jimmy would usually bring a book to read while on wireless duty, but Helstrom would harangue him to "pay attention" when they shared duty in the pilot room. The problem was most of the time there wasn't really anything to pay attention to. There was occasional wireless traffic, but usually it was just other ships giving their position, or messages for passenger ships, but even that was very rare. Most of the time, the wireless sat quiet.

Besides which, it was at Mr. Hayes' suggestion that Jimmy started bringing books to wireless duty.

Jimmy looked at the radio Long Tom Roberts installed next to the wireless. The only indication that it was even on was the green light it emitted and a faint hiss of static.

"You aren't falling asleep, are you boy?" Helstrom asked Jimmy.

With a start, Jimmy realized that he had in fact been nodding off. That wouldn't have happened, he thought ruefully, if he'd had a book.

It was at that moment that Long Tom's radio suddenly came to life.

Loud and clear, an accented voice came over the radio.

"Wakanda One to the Venture," the voice said. "This is Wakanda One requesting your position."

"Don't give them our position, you idiot!" Helstrom exclaimed.

Jimmy already knew that. He took the microphone and pushed the reply button just as Long Tom had taught him.

"This is the Venture, over," Jimmy said as he turned towards Helstrom.

"Get Captain Englehorn and Doc Savage," Jimmy said. "The Captain and Mr. Roberts told me to expect this call and that they were to be contacted when it came in."

Jimmy felt grim satisfaction as Helstrom's face turned bright red. The Captain hadn't told him about the expected call from the Wakandans!

"Why don't _you_ get them then?" Helstrom growled.

"Because I'm on _radio _duty," Jimmy said with satisfaction as he turned back towards the radio.

"This is crewman Hayes of the Venture," he said. "We are bringing Captain Englehorn and Doc Savage now to speak with you."

"Very good," the accented voice said over the radio. "I am very much looking forward to revisiting with my good friends Doc and Johnny."

* * *

"Johnny, wait!"

Doc said this to Johnny just as he was about to leave the cabin he shared with Doc, Renny, and Long Tom. Doc had spent very little time in the cabin, spending most of his waking and even sleeping hours in the large hold with Kong and Miss Darrow. Young Jimmy Hayes had told them that on the last voyage the cabin was occupied by Carl Denham and his film crew.

Doc turned to Renny and Long Tom, who had both stopped when he called Johnny's name.

"You two go on," Doc said. "Long Tom, you man the radio, help to give them our position, if they haven't already triangulated on it."

"Triangulated?" Long Tom asked skeptically.

"The Wakandans may have released a radio beacon to help locate us," Doc said. "They are very precise."

Johnny felt thrilled. He was hoping he would see at least one of the Wakandans he and Doc had played with as children. He wondered how on Earth Doc had managed to convince the Wakandans to overcome their traditional isolationism and meet him here in the Atlantic. _Why _would the Wakandans come here?

Johnny suspected that it might have had something to do with the giant mountain gorilla variant that sometimes appeared in or close to their homeland. Did Doc think there was a connection between Kong and those (much smaller) giants?

Doc went over to his trunk and pulled out two brightly colored robes.

"Spider silk," Doc said. "Reinforced by spun gold thread."

"Doc, these are _royal_ robes!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Naturally," Doc replied. "Johnny, you of course remember Umaru?"

"Of course I do!" Johnny said. Umaru was one of the Wakandan royal family and one of their most daring playmates. However, nearly a third of the citizens of the Wakanda were members of the royal family, so having a playmate in the royal family was not unusual even for the (extremely rare) visitor.

"Umaru is now _**T**__'maru_," Doc said.

"Umaru…I mean T'maru, is the _**Black Panther**_?" Johnny asked in amazement. Johnny spoke the title "Black Panther" in Wakandan.

"Yes," Doc said. "He recently won the mental and physical trials to become the Wakandan ruler. T'imi is planning on retiring soon. However, she will remain the Black Panther of record until T'maru returns from our trip."

Johnny was stunned. The Wakandan system of government was a fascinating mix of monarchy and meritocracy. There was a royal family, but who became the next ruler of the country was dependent upon who best passed the mental tests of science, temperament, and statecraft, and the physical tests of personal combat and a grueling scavenger hunt. The varied members of the Wakandan royal family raised their children to compete in these tests, and it was these rearing techniques that Clark Savage Senior, the former Lord John Roxton, applied to the raising of his son. T'maru would be one of the few people in the world whose abilities would rival Doc's. The Wakandans invested a lot in their rulers, and Johnny found it shocking that they would allow their heir apparent to accompany a bunch of outsiders to a place as dangerous as Kong's homeland.

"I told the Wakandans about Kong, and also about some theories I've had about the connections between his homeland and their history," Doc said. "They are very intrigued. The Twin Councils of Elders both deliberated and were convinced that T'maru's request to accompany us was worth pursuing."

The government of the Wakanda was a monarchy, but it was not absolute.

"Doc, that…" Johnny said. "Why wouldn't they simply mount their own expedition? They could _do_ that."

"Because they trust _us, _Johnny!" Doc said, amazement reflected in his own voice. "My father and I remained in contact with the Wakandans over the years, and I have even visited with them once since my father died. But they remembered you as well, and even though you were just a boy, they were very impressed.

"Which is the reason for these robes. We are going to be asked to participate in a blood brother ceremony with T'maru."

"I'll be superamalgamated!" Johnny exclaimed. He started to put the robe Doc gave him over his clothes. He was amazed to find that they were the right length for his extremely thin, ridiculously tall body. This meant that the robes had been made just for him.

"They've been anticipating this, Doc!" Johnny said as he finished putting on the robe.

"They have," Doc agreed. "The Wakandans are pursuing a somewhat different strategy in their dealings with the outside world, and they are employing the same brilliance they apply to everything else. You see, Johnny, our time with them was more than simple play. It was a test that we both passed. Part of the reason for my returning to the Wakanda periodically was to give them my assessments as to how you were turning out. But it was when I told them that I now called you 'brother' that they said they knew all they needed to know about you."

Johnny felt a surge of honored pride that caused a tightness in his chest and an itching wetness in his eyes as he followed Doc up the stairs and onto the deck.

* * *

Captain Englehorn stood next to Doc Savage and yet again wondered what it was he was getting himself into. The Wakandans were by reputation a secretive people who did not welcome strangers and did not venture out of their territory. Englehorn had heard the rumors, of course: The Wakandans had a hidden city within their land that was full of precious gold and minerals, but they were so fierce in the protection of their territory that no one dared to venture there. It was said that the Boers and the Belgians both sent large armed parties into the Wakanda to conquer it, and both times a paltry handful of survivors returned with tales of "supernatural" weapons and bloodthirsty warriors who were half man, half cat.

And yet, here they were, waiting for a ship called "Wakanda One". What would an isolated, land locked African tribe be doing with a ship anyway?

Englehorn looked out at the ocean, at least the ocean that was illuminated by the ship's lights. It was 2:44 in the morning and a new moon, and there was cloud cover. There were no other lights. No sign of another ship's lights in the distance.

"Are you sure there's somebody out there?" Englehorn turned and asked Savage, who was clad in a brightly colored robe.

"Oh yes," Savage said. "Do you feel that breeze? A slight downdraft? It was completely still a minute ago."

"A downdraft?" Englehorn asked. "What would a downdraft have to do with a ship?"

Savage looked at Englehorn and smiled slightly.

"You're looking the wrong direction," he said.

Englehorn turned and looked the other way.

"No," Savage said, touching Englehorn lightly on the shoulder and pointing to his man Littlejohn. "Johnny", who was also wearing a brightly colored robe, was looking up in the air. "You're still looking the wrong _direction_."

So saying, Savage turned his head to look up in the sky.

"You mean that the Wakandans are flying a plane?" Englehorn asked.

"Not exactly," Savage said.

Suddenly, a bright finger of light erupted downwards from the clouds portside. The light reflected brightly off the water and also illuminated the clouds above them.

"I …I don't hear any engines," Englehorn said.

"You wouldn't," Savage said.

The light moved towards them, and as it did so it dimmed a little, so that it was not uncomfortably bright by the time it illuminated the deck. From above the illuminated clouds, three ropes dropped from the sky, ending about 20 feet above the deck of the Venture.

"They're going to climb down?" Englehorn asked Savage.

Savage didn't answer, and seconds later three men slid down along the ropes. The men on each side wore brightly colored robes, but the man in the middle wore a form fitting black suit of some sort, with a featureless mask except for two black projections that looked like the ears of a cat. When the men reached the ends of their ropes they simply let go and dropped onto the deck.

Like cats, they landed on their feet. Perhaps, thought Englehorn, there was something after all to those stories of warriors who were half man and half cat.

* * *

Renny stood next to Johnny as the three men slid down the ropes out of the clouds and dropped onto the deck. Renny was impressed. He couldn't hear the engines of the airship above them at all. He wished he could get a better look at it, but the ship hovered above the low lying clouds.

"Wish I could see that airship," Renny said to his tall, gaunt friend.

"You won't," Johnny said. "In fact, it's entirely possible that the Wakandans are generating the clouds themselves."

"A fog machine of some sort?" Renny asked. "Maybe CO2 ice?"

"I don't know," Johnny said. "What I do know is that the Wakandans don't like anyone to see their airships."

The man in the form fitting black suit took off his mask to reveal a very dark skinned, handsome African face. Doc stepped towards him and nodded solemnly. Then the two men embraced. As they did so, the two men in robes stepped forward to stand between Doc and the man in the black suit, and everyone else. The robed Wakandans each had a weapon. The weapons looked like spears at first glance, but the shafts were clearly hollow. The blades were on one side of a hole at the end of the shaft, while the other end tapered into what looked like the mouthpiece of a clarinet.

"What _are_ those things?" Renny asked Johnny. "Some sort of blowguns?"

"You could say that," Johnny replied. Renny noticed that Johnny was using small words for once. "They use amplified sound like gunpowder. The tubes are made of a special alloy that absorbs or amplifies vibrations. There are metal pellets in those "blowguns"that they can propel through the steel bulkhead of this ship."

Renny was skeptical. The engineer couldn't imagine how such a device could be possible.

"Johnny, are you sure they weren't putting you on?" Renny asked.

"Positive," Johnny said. "I learned to blow one myself when I was a boy. I was terrible at it. Doc was better, perhaps as good as most of the _Wakandan_ kids. Umaru, no excuse me, _**T**__'maru_**, **was the best I ever saw at it. We had to do target practice on these massive stone blocks embedded into the side of a hill, the projectiles were too dangerous to fire anywhere else. Even then, we would knock off some pretty large chunks when we fired the pellets at it. I was told that they had to replace the stone blocks once a month."

Johnny stopped talking as Doc turned towards Captain Englehorn.

"Captain Englehorn, may I present T'maru, the T'______ of the Wakanda," Doc said.

"T'______?" asked Renny, or tried to. The word seemed to be almost all consonants, and he couldn't say it quite right.

"It means 'Black Panther' in Wakandan," Johnny said. "Wakandan is probably one of the closest languages to the ancestral Bantu tongue."

"The Black Panther?" asked Renny.

"The black phase of the leopard is relatively common in the Wakanda, and is sacred to the Wakandans," Johnny said. "The black panther is the totem of the royal family, and the current ruler and the heir apparent are both referred to as T'_____, or Black Panther."

T'maru extended his hand to Englehorn and shook it.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain," T'maru said.

"Permission granted, your majesty," Englehorn replied.

T'maru nodded his thanks. Then his gaze fell upon Johnny and he grinned.

"Johnny, so good to see you again!" he said.

Johnny replied in Wakandan. Johnny's Wakandan sounded hesitant and uncertain to Renny's ears, but T'maru's grin became wider.

After Johnny finished speaking to T'maru, the Wakandan prince turned to each of his two companions (bodyguards?) and nodded. One man took out three sealed packets, the other took out a metal cup apparently made from the same metal that their weapons were made from. The packets were handed deferentially in turn to T'maru, Doc, and Johnny. The man with the cup pulled another metal container from his robes, this one looking like a sealed metal bottle. He opened the container and there was a hiss, and condensation came out of the top of the metal bottle, indicating the cool temperature of the liquid within. The man poured the liquid, which was white, into the cup.

Meanwhile, Renny watched as T'maru, Doc, and Johnny each opened their packets. Each contained a small, sharp looking knife. Making a face, each man sliced the back palm of their hands. Then, T'maru took the cup and dripped a couple of drops of blood from his hand into the cup. Then T'maru handed the cup to Doc, who did the same thing. Finally, Johnny took the cup and also dripped a couple of drops of his blood into the cup.

The man who had the blade packets stepped forward and spoke in Wakandan. Johnny replied first, also in Wakandan, then took a drink from the cup. Then Johnny handed the cup to Doc, who repeated what sounded like the same Wakandan phrase and took a drink. Finally, T'maru took the cup, took a drink, and spoke the same phrase as Johnny and Doc had before him. The two robed men then stepped back and nodded solemnly to Johnny, Doc, and T'maru in turn. Then, the spotlight shining down on the deck from the hidden airship became brighter, so bright Renny could no longer look at it. As he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head, the light suddenly vanished. Renny reopened his eyes and turned to look at the spot on the deck where the two robed men had stood. When his eyes adjusted to the sudden loss of light, he saw that the two men had vanished. T'maru, however, was still there and talking in low, urgent tones to Doc and Johnny.

Johnny wiped the blade of the knife the Wakandans had given him with his handkerchief and then slipped it into his pocket. Then he walked back over to where Renny was standing.

"Some sort of blood brother ceremony?" Renny asked his friend.

"Something like that," Johnny said. "It's unprecedented, really. It's the first time that outsiders have been trusted with the welfare of a Wakandan ruler, although it's not even that simple. T'maru is pledged to _our_ protection as well, and by extension, the protection of our family and friends."

"_We_ can take care of ourselves, Johnny," Renny said. "But of course you know the rest of us will do everything we can to help you and Doc uphold your obligations to T'maru."

"Don't fail to be impressed by this gesture," Johnny said. "Like I said, it is unprecedented. More to the point, if there is any man in the world who may be Doc's equal, the Black Panther of the Wakandans is that man."

Renny looked at his friend and started to say _You're kidding_. But when Renny saw the serious expression on Johnny's thin, scholarly face, he knew that the archeologist/paleontologist was quite serious.

* * *

Ann Darrow was awakened by the exclamations of the crew, and then a light that briefly shined down into the open hatch of the large hold. Kong, his breathing now heavily labored even in sleep, rumbled and stirred briefly, but did not wake up.

Eventually, the more typical sounds of men working above and below decks on the Venture returned, and Ann began to doze again until there was a rap on the door. Kong again rumbled and stirred briefly, but did not wake up.

The door to the large hold opened inward. Walking in were Pat Savage, her cousin Doctor Savage, Doctor Savage's man "Johnny" and a man she had never seen before. The man was not as tall as his companions, but he was still taller than average. He moved with the same easy economy of motion that Doctor Savage had. He was wearing a black jumpsuit of some sort, and his own skin was very dark so that for the briefest of moments Ann thought he was naked.

"This is Ann Darrow, who befriended Kong," Doctor Savage said. "Miss Darrow, this is T'maru, the Crown Prince of the Wakanda."

T'maru looked up at Kong, his expression awestruck. He spoke something to Doctor Savage, then turned to Ann and spoke again in lightly accented English.

"My apologies, Miss Darrow, for forgetting myself and speaking in my native language," T'maru said. "I was telling my friends Doc and Johnny that while I have seen a giant gorilla before, never before have I seen something as remarkable as your friend Kong."

Ann stared at T'maru.

"You've seen other giant gorillas before?" Ann asked.

"One other," T'maru said. "A male who weighed about a ton, ton and a half and stood 12 feet tall on two legs. He never made it to adulthood, and certainly wouldn't have made it to the size of your friend Kong."

T'maru turned to Doc.

"This _**is**_a profound mystery," T'maru said. "Even assuming that your theory about the nature of his homeland is true, that might explain his great size, but not what an African animal was doing there in the first place."

* * *

T'maru was already feeling vindicated in the effort he had exerted to convince the Twin Councils of Elders and his aunt, the current ruling Black Panther, of the importance of honoring Clark Savage Junior's request for Wakandan assistance in exploring the "Land Behind the Mists".

The Wakanda was the oldest stable nation in the world, with much the same government in the 3,012th year of the nation as it had when the first Black Panther had ascended the throne to begin the 1st year of the nation. The formula for the success of the Wakanda was simple and straightforward. They developed the incredible natural alloy derived from the nation's unique mineral richness, which the outside world had taken to calling vibranium, into the basis of an advanced technology. When the ancient Greeks started to pioneer the sciences, the Wakandans were already working out the electromagnetic force. When the ancient Romans built aquaducts and central heating based on heated water under the floors, the Wakandans had already developed flush toilets and air conditioners. During the Middle Ages, when expansionist Arab traders and slavers moved southward in search of the rumored mineral richness of the Wakandan cities, their arrival was announced by wireless, and their invasion attempts were repelled by artillery based on focused sound waves rather than gunpowder.

The other part of the Wakandan formula for success was isolation. They would occasionally send men and even women out into the outside world to monitor developments, but this became less practical as the other, competing Bantu city states in sub-Saharan Africa died out and were overgrown by the returning rainforests. There were other nations, powerful nations, but for the most part they were more distant than was practical. The Wakandans would welcome others into their nation through marriages, and occasionally (but very rarely) Wakandans would marry into the outside world. But the Wakandans did not welcome uninvited trespassers, and they dealt very harshly indeed with attempted invasions. The typical Wakandan strategy was to leave no more than four members of a failed invasion force alive to go back to their fellows and report the futility of invasion.

Then there came in the last century (the 19th by Western reckoning, the 30th by Wakandan) the European colonial powers. The Belgians, the Germans, the Dutch, and the English all sent adventurers to take the Wakandan mineral wealth. While each would be invader was still efficiently repelled, the different sorts of weapons the Europeans brought to the fray, the rifles and cannons, alarmed the ancient nation. Portions of the outside world were catching up technologically. The Wakandans still greatly valued science and technology, but the numbers and weapons of the new outsiders eventually convinced the Wakandans to modify their isolation strategy. The Wakandans sent men into the outside world. The men carried great wealth, which they used to hire agents, who in turn hired other agents, until the Wakandans had a worldwide financial and spy network second to none, and where 95 percent of the people who worked for the network had no idea that they were working for a small but powerful nation hidden in the heart of Africa.

Two of the initial agents they recruited were originally sent to the Wakanda as ambassadors from the English government. These two agents were Allan Quartermain and his young assistant, the future Lord John Roxton. These two men proved their honor to the Wakandan royal family, and the Wakandans, in turn, earned the men's friendship and loyalty.

Eventually, Quartermain was given a very different duty involving a highly secretive "League", and Roxton had vanished, only to re-emerge with a new identity and a son. That son, more familiar than any other outsider with the ways of the Wakanda, was now T'maru's blood brother. A blood brother with a theory about why gorillas were found in the "Land Behind the Mists". The theory, if true, was the answer to an ancient Wakandan mystery.

What had happened to the people of the great lost city of Zinj? Where had they gone?

* * *

_Through lidded eyes, Kong watched the new arrival, a little tufted ape with dark skin like the ones from his homeland. The dark ape moved with the same ease and economy of motion as the bronze ape. Almost certainly, Kong thought, he was looking at another patriarch. _

_Kong was concerned. It was clear that the bronze ape was trying to return to Kong's homeland. Why the little bronze ape had captured and brought him along for the ride Kong was not certain. But, assuming Kong survived long enough to return home (a big if considering how hard it was for him to breath), the last thing he would do is lead the little apes to other survivors among his own people. _

_Assuming there were any, that is. _

Next

Chapter 8

The Mists and Beyond!


	8. Chapter 8 The Mists and Beyond!

**First of all, an inadvertent omission from the last chapter. Alan Quartermain is the creation of H. Rider Haggard for his novel **_**King Solomon's Mines**_**. I won't be mentioning him much, and I am actually going more with the Crichton storyline (i.e., his novel **_**Congo**_**) about King Solomon's mines. For the "league" reference, blame comic book writer Alan Moore. **

**Secondly, this (short!) chapter begins the reveal about the secret of "Skull Island", or my version of it anyway. **

Chapter 8

The Mists and Beyond!

At 2:36 the next afternoon, Long Tom Roberts was monitoring his own radio when the signal came in, not on his radio, but on the Venture's wireless. The code was not in English or any of the eight other languages Long Tom spoke. In fact, it didn't even seem to be Morse Code.

Long Tom turned to Englehorn, who was steering his own ship.

"Can you have someone get Doc, please?" Long Tom asked. "And maybe T'maru as well."

The signal, whatever it was, was repeated. It sounded like it could have been a distress beacon of some sort.

T'maru was the first to arrive. He was now dressed very much like Doc, with tan slacks, black boots, and a white shirt rolled up to show powerfully muscled forearms. His expression was grim as he listened to the signal. Seconds later, Doc and Johnny walked in. Long Tom felt a brief twinge of jealousy towards Johnny for having a connection with Doc and this adventure that the rest of them didn't have. Then, deeply ashamed of himself for having this jealous twinge, Long Tom pushed the feeling out of his mind.

Then the signal stopped.

"Long Tom," T'maru said. "May I?"

So saying, T'maru reached towards Long Tom's radio. Long Tom opened his mouth to protest and Doc said in slightly warning tone of voice:

"Long Tom."

T'maru started to manipulate the frequency dial. Long Tom had to admit it looked like T'maru knew what he was doing.

Suddenly, they all heard it, faint bursts of static within static that matched the signal coming in over the wireless.

"We need a way to triangulate the location," T'maru said.

"Long Tom?" Doc said. This time it was an invitation. Long Tom opened a hidden panel on the radio and started to manipulate more dials.

"We also use hovering beacons," Doc explained to T'maru. "I had Renny and Long Tom release some four days ago, and they have been moving parallel to this ship."

Long Tom adjusted the frequency of the beacons until they matched that of the signal and got the location.

"This is weird, Doc," Long Tom said. "It's close by, really close by, but there shouldn't be that much interference unless the signal is really weak, and there wasn't that much interference before."

Doc turned and gave the coordinates to Englehorn.

"We need to move quickly!" Doc snapped. "The window is narrowing!"

Englehorn nodded like he knew what Doc was talking about. Long Tom had no idea what Doc was talking about, and looking at Johnny it didn't look like the archeologist/paleontologist did either. T'maru, on the other hand, simply looked very concerned and more than a little angry.

"I am sorry, T'maru," Doc said. "I hope your men are all right."

"This signal is from the Wakandan airship?" Long Tom asked, already certain of the answer.

"Yes," T'maru said. "It's a distress beacon. Evidently my cousins inadvertently found the mists we are looking for."

* * *

_Even in his suffocating misery, Kong realized that something had changed. The whales had changed their vocalizations, and all the whales he heard were now moving in a direction opposite to the course of the craft he was on. More curiously, the whales that he had heard in the opposite direction were no longer vocalizing, as if they had vanished. _

_Because of his great size, much of Kong's hearing was in what the little apes would have called the "infrasonic range". As a result, within the craft, surrounded by water, he heard almost the full complexity of the whales' vocalizations, and several species worth at that. _

_Kong stirred, and stirring, coughed some. A great deal of fluid came out, and he was mildly surprised to find that he was breathing a little easier. _

_And with the relatively increased ease of breath, his large nasal passages, proportional in size to those of a smaller gorilla, but nevertheless much more sensitive because of his enormous size, began to detect new odors. Or, more accurately, old and familiar odors. _

_The odors of home._

* * *

After calling all of his available crew to the alert, Englehorn steered his own ship towards the coordinates Savage gave him. In the distance, he saw the mists. The mists were well north of the location he last saw them.

Englehorn looked at the ship's compass. As it did before, it went haywire, almost as if it was cut off from the north magnetic pole and was now just swinging randomly with every jostle of the ship. A wind picked up. The leading edge of the mists hung low to the surface of the water, but further away the mists became a wall of extremely dark fog that reached as high and as far as Englehorn could see. He'd never seen the mists in daylight before, the other two times he went through the mists it was night. The mists were impressive, but the extreme dark of the wall of fog was odd and unsettling. Having an idea of what was on the other side was more unsettling yet.

Englehorn's palms were wet as he maneuvered his ship towards the mists. He watched as his crew moved around the ship. Jimmy climbed to his usual spot in the crow's nest. Denham and Driscoll both moved like sure handed and experienced sailors. Denham, Englehorn knew, had some previous experience on ships. Driscoll's experience was largely limited to his trips on the Venture, but he had obviously learned from his current and previous voyages.

Denham was particularly impressive, rapidly identifying where help was needed and providing assistance. For the briefest of moments, Englehorn wondered if Denham would consider a change in career.

But then as the prow of his ship crossed into the leading edge of the mists, obscuring the sight of his crew, Englehorn pushed all thoughts except for controlling his ship from his mind.

* * *

A sense of terrible foreboding settled into Jimmy Hayes' heart as he sat in the crow's nest. They were returning to the place that had killed almost half of them the previous time out. Not even the presence of Doc Savage and his crew reassured him. Not with the murderous giant ape in the big hold.

Even more disturbing this time was the darkness that hung behind the fog. At first, Jimmy looked above the mists. He couldn't see below decks, and it almost seemed as if he was on top of a disembodied poll and the wall of fog was moving towards him. Then the fog was upon him, and darkness surrounded him. He could barely see the lights of the ship below him. He occasionally heard voices calling out, including Reynolds giving depth readings.

Just as before, even though the fog seemed to be smothering, breathing actually became easier. Jimmy continued to watch as best he could, even though he could not see beyond the ship, for the jagged wall of rock that he was now certain was ahead of them.

* * *

Ham went down the stairs and opened the door to the small hold. He couldn't believe it. The wild dark fog (it was now black as night outside) and the subtle change in the air were remarkable, and yet Monk was down here in the hold missing it.

"Hey, you big stupid ape!" Ham yelled as he stepped into the small hold. "You're missing the excitement."

"Shuddup, Ham!" Monk yelled back from inside the Rumbler. Monk's use of his name immediately sobered Ham up. Whatever Monk was doing, it was serious.

Ham went into the Rumbler. Monk wasn't at the controls, but he was a ways back monitoring some sort of equipment.

"What are you doing?" Ham asked. His tone was respectful, but there was an edge of impatience with it.

"Monitoring the oxygen levels," Monk said.

"In the Rumbler?" Ham asked.

"Get a clue, shyster!" Monk replied with a snort. "The door's open. I'm monitoring the oxygen in the ambient atmosphere, just as Doc told me to."

As he did so, Monk swore and tapped the gauge he was looking at impatiently with his index finger.

"This _can't _be right!" the ape-like chemist exclaimed.

"What can't be right?" Ham asked. Although he would almost never admit to it publicly, he greatly respected Monk's professional knowledge. He knew the same applied in reverse for Monk, which was why he was his best friend's lawyer, although when he found himself needing to directly advise the chemist, he usually relayed the advice through Doc. Doc had passed the New York Bar Exam himself on his first try, although he was no litigator and really never functioned as a lawyer. Monk, however, wouldn't argue with Doc like he would (just for the heck of it) with Ham.

"According to the gauge, the oxygen level in the ambient atmosphere has climbed to 36 percent!" Monk said.

"What does that mean?" Ham asked.

"The normal atmospheric level _worldwide_ is 21 percent!" Monk said. "A 15 percent increase shouldn't happen this side of an oxygen tent! Certainly not in the open ocean!"

"Shouldn't we be getting sick, then?" Ham asked.

"Yeah," Monk replied. "But the barometric pressure isn't increasing, which is weird because the increasing proportion of oxygen should be increasing the pressure."

"Well, speaking of weird, you should see the weirdness out there!" Ham replied. "It's like we've sailed into a pitch black nighttime fog in the middle of the day!"

Monk turned and looked at Ham.

"Really?" Monk asked. "Y'know, _that_ may explain a lot."

"_What_ may explain a lot?" Ham asked.

Monk answered him

"That's the_ craziest_ thing I _ever_ heard!" Ham exclaimed.

"I agree," Monk said. "But I don't know what else to think."

And for Ham, that was the most unnerving thing of all.

* * *

Captain Englehorn watched the compass. According to the compass, he was now going due south, even though he knew he hadn't changed direction. The ocean was outwardly calm, but it seemed he was going downhill as if the ocean was running on a slight incline. Soon, if it was like the previous voyage, the ocean would become choppy as they approached the rocky coast of "Skull Island".

"Captain!" Jimmy Hayes yelled from the crow's nest above them. "The fog is starting to clear up here!"

Englehorn turned to Savage and his friends T'maru, Roberts, and Littlejohn.

"I think we're through," Englehorn said.

In the cabin, a weird trilling sound started to arise. Englehorn couldn't identify its source until Littlejohn, Roberts and T'maru all simultaneously said, "Doc."

The trilling immediately stopped.

"Sorry," Savage said.

* * *

Pat Savage stood on deck. The fog was clearing. There was now a breeze. The air smelled weird, a mixture of damp and something she couldn't identify.

Then she saw the night sky.

This was crazy! It wasn't even 3:00 in the afternoon!

But it was unquestionably night. The familiar stars in the night sky were there; the Little Dipper, the Big Dipper, all of the familiar constellations were where they were supposed to be.

But then there was the full moon. On the previous night, it had been a _new_ moon.

The moon was reflected on the gently rolling ocean.

"Holy cow!" Renny whispered beside her. "_**What is wrong with the moon**_?"

He wasn't just referring to the fact that it was full.

* * *

_The world tasted right again. The heaviness was gone and the breathing (between coughing up what had settled in his lungs) was easy again. _

_And he was famished. _

_Kong was home. _

* * *

"Captain Englehorn," Savage said.

Englehorn jumped. They were through the mists but there was no rocky shore, they were in open ocean. Or almost open ocean, he could see a distant shoreline to his right, to what his compass told him was to the west, but what his gut told him was to the east. From his previous voyage, Englehorn already knew that his gut was correct.

The sun would rise over the shoreline to his right.

"Y…yes Doctor Savage," Englehorn said.

"Permission to open the hatch to the large hold," Savage said. "I would like for Kong to see he is home."

"I don't know…"Englehorn started to say. He was worried about what the big gorilla's excitement upon seeing that he was close to home would do to his ship.

"Nothing else has happened so far," Savage reminded him. "Kong is aware of the fragility of this ship on the open ocean."

Englehorn sighed.

"All right," he said.

* * *

The hatch over the large hold started to open. Ann looked up as best she could, but Kong stood over her, uttering short rumbling grunts of excitement. Kong pushed himself to two legs, and the ship rocked slightly. She heard a couple of the men above her cry out in alarm, but Kong simply stood and looked around. Then he dropped back to all fours and looked at her.

Kong was smiling!

He looked 100 percent better. Almost like the old Kong who had first terrified her on "Skull Island", or who had taken her "ice skating" in Central Park.

He reached down and picked her up, gently raising her above the hold door. She saw a gorgeous night sky filled with stars and a full moon that…

The moon!

The moon was full, but it was not a moon she had ever seen before. Most of the moon was blue. On each end of the moon, there was a white cap. On one side, the white cap was over the blue. On the other side, the white cap was over a brown and green area. A cloud moved across the moon's face, over what looked like the edge of a crater carved into the shoreline of the southern land mass.

And yet, the night sky overhead was completely cloud free. The cloud was evidently part of the _moon's _sky!

Next

Chapter 9

Another World


	9. Chapter 9 Another World

Chapter 9

Another World

They were all looking to him.

30 minutes ago or so, give or take a minute, it had been the middle of a hot afternoon. Now it was apparently the middle of a tropical night. The blue moon with its ocean and clouds and southern continent hadn't moved very far along the sky yet. Sunrise could have been an hour or several hours away.

He had listened to the discussion among the crew of the Venture. The talk about how when they arrived at 'Skull Island' the last time sunrise came 3 hours early, or how the days and nights lasted hours longer here than they should have.

Even before they'd gone through the mists, Doc knew that his theory about the secret of the land beyond the mists was right. Funny how that didn't reassure him one little bit.

They were all still waiting: Englehorn and the crew of the Venture, which included at the moment both Carl Denham and Jack Driscoll; his own crew, his "brothers", including Monk and Ham coming up from the small hold; his cousin Pat; T'maru (who, Doc suspected, had already figured out for himself what had happened); and finally even Kong and Ann Darrow. Ann now stood on the deck next to the open hatch of the large hold, and not incidentally also next to Kong's head and his fingertips as he stood on his tiptoes to look out at his world.

_Everyone_ was looking at Doc and waiting for his explanation of what happened.

"I don't _know_ what happened," Doc said with uncharacteristic hesitation. "No, that's not right. I know _what_ happened, but not _how_ it happened."

Monk was looking at the blue moon.

"I know what happened too," Monk said. "We're on another planet."

"Well, yes and no, Monk," Doc said. "If you will look at the constellations, you will see that they are unchanged. We are _still_ on Earth.

"We're just on a _different_ Earth."

Englehorn shrugged.

"Well, _that_ makes sense," he said. "We knew we had to go through the mists both to get here and get back. After all, we _sailed _right over or through 'Skull Island' several times before we actually ran into it."

"Doc," Johnny said. "This doesn't make sense, how can this…how did you…?"

"Johnny," Doc said. "I don't know. I've thought about it, quite a lot actually, really all of my life ever since…"

Doc turned and briefly looked at Pat. He still hadn't told her everything he knew about their heritage, in particular that the shadowy land on their starboard side was supposedly her and Doc's birthplace. He needed to, but he wasn't about to blurt it out to her now, in front of others.

"…since a long time," Doc finished weakly. "But the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum physics may provide a clue, assuming that it's wrong."

Long Tom and Monk both looked very interested. The other three were very intelligent men in their own fields, but their work (even Renny's) did not overlap much with theoretical and experimental physics. T'maru, on the other hand, nodded at Doc's words. Doc knew that the Wakandans had their own thoughts about the nature of reality, and they had recently been inspired to build on them by the work of Albert Einstein (who had somehow beaten even the Wakandans to the relativity theories). However, even Doc didn't know what the Wakandans' recent thoughts on theoretical physics were. The Wakandans' capacity to do experimental physics was still at least several decades ahead of the outside world's. However, Doc's recent thinking about the Copenhagen Interpretation was evidently not unfamiliar to T'maru.

"What do you mean, Doc?" Monk asked.

"What if the wave function that results from the Young experiment does not collapse under observation?" Doc asked. "What if there is no observer effect at all? What if the world we see is like a ream of paper stacked sideways, and everything we see is within just one sheet?"

"Then we would just be seeing _part _of the wave," Monk said. "The rest of the wave would be in the other sheets, the other _**worlds**_. Doc, that's _**fantastic**_!"

"And don't forget it could be completely wrong," Doc said. "But the fact of the matter is, there appears to be more than one Earth, and for some reason _this_ Earth and ours overlap in this region, and apparently have been overlapping for millions of years."

Pat shook her head.

"Are you sure this isn't just some weird…place?" she asked.

"With a different _**moon**_?" Carl Denham asked rhetorically. "I don't even pretend to know what you guys have been talking about, but it's clear to _me_ that we are in a different _**world**_. It's been clear to me ever since I've been looking for this place that I was looking for a different world, but the real evidence is right there in the sky for all of us to see."

"And not only there," Doc said. "Monk?"

"I checked the oxygen levels in the atmosphere just like you wanted me to, Doc," Monk said. "They're at 36 percent. Not only that, I weighed myself both before we went through the mists and again after we came through the mists. The first time, I weighed my usual 255. The second time I weighed 227. I figure the gravity here must be between 89 to 90 percent what it is at home."

"Wait…wait…" Johnny said. "This…this makes sense! A higher oxygen content would allow much larger animals to breath, and a reduced gravity would allow them to support their own weight!"

Doc nodded.

"That's right, Johnny," Doc said. "A creature like Kong could not live in our world. But _here_, the conditions are just right.

"Kong's very existence was proof of the existence of another world accessible from ours."

* * *

Nils Helstrom listened as the men muttered among themselves after Savage had finished his talk. They had known that something was up with "Skull Island" the last time they were there, but to find out that they were literally on another world? That if they sailed due west they would end up God knew where? This was the perfect opportunity to turn the crew to his advantage.

"If you needed proof that Englehorn was reckless," Helstrom whispered to Reynolds and Hanks. "This is it. He's stuck us on another _world_. Who knows if we'll ever get back this time?"

Reynolds would have none of it.

"The Cap'n got us back before, Helstrom," Reynolds said. "He'll get us back again."

Hanks, who never did say much, didn't say anything now. He simply lit a match and held it up to his cigarette. He hissed as the match burned down rapidly to his fingers. He waved his hand in the air.

"Better be careful, Hanks," Carl Denham said as he walked over. "Remember what it was like the last time we were here. The engines ran hot, we went through a lot of fuel, and the cigarettes burned down rapidly. And now we know why. The oxygen content is higher here."

"I remember," Helstrom said. "We almost didn't have enough fuel to get back. The ship could have overheated or blown up. Or we could have ended up stuck in the middle of the ocean with _him_."

So saying, Helstrom pointed to Kong, whose head was sticking up out of the hatch for the large hold, sniffing the air.

"So why the hell are we _back_ here?" Helstrom asked the other crewmen rhetorically.

"We're back here because Englehorn wants to hold onto his ship," Denham said. "He really didn't have a choice, considering the liability he was under for bringing Kong to New York. Unlike you. _Any_ of you. None of you had to sail with us."

So saying, Denham turned and looked at Hanks, Reynolds, and Red O'Hara all in turn. The look he gave Helstrom was pointed. Denham was suspicious of him. Helstrom knew it when people were suspicious of him.

"Part of the deal Captain Englehorn made with Doc Savage and Ham Brooks shields you, _all_ of you, from any liability regarding the damage Kong caused in New York. True, Doc and Ham also committed to paying all legal costs and damages charged to Captain Englehorn, but he didn't have to shield you all to make this deal. Englehorn's first concern was for all of you. But then, you all _know_ that, you've served with him long enough.

"The question is, are you all loyal to _him_? I know the answer for most of you is yes. That is why you are here now. _Most _of you anyway."

The small crowd of crewmen who had gathered around them all nodded at Denham's words. Helstrom was furious. The men all responded to Denham like they should have responded to him!

Helstrom turned and made eye contact with Red, and then looked at Denham. Red signaled his understanding with a slight nod.

"Hey, Denham!" Kramer yelled. "What sort of deal did _you_ make with Savage?"

"I didn't make any deal, boys," Denham said. "Except maybe an opportunity to save my soul.

"Assuming I haven't already _sold_ it, that is."

The men all chuckled. Even Red!

The men _liked_ Denham, and that was a problem. Fortunately, Red was good at solving problems.

With any luck, Carl Denham would soon have an unfortunate accident.

* * *

The sun rose 7 hours and 14 minutes after the Venture emerged out of the mists. The blue moon had just sunk below the western horizon. T'maru and Doc leaned on the starboard railing and watched the sun rise over the distant shore. The shore was a vertical cliff.

"I can see why Challenger called it 'The Plateau'," T'maru said.

Doc nodded.

"From what Carl has told me, there are more breaks in the coast father south, where the Venture arrived during the last trip."

"My ship and my men are somewhere over there," T'maru said.

"I swear we will find them, T'maru," Doc said.

T'maru turned and looked at his friend, now his blood brother, with amused affection. The people of Wakanda, through their mostly unknown agents spread throughout the world, had followed the exploits of Doc and his 'Amazing 5'. The public knew them for their adventures, when they faced international criminals with horrific affectations. But the Wakandans had deeper knowledge of their exploits. The people they had helped around the world, the medical care and technological help they had provided to the poorest parts of the world.

There was no questioning the honor of Clark Savage Junior, or his loyalty to both his friends and the cause of right.

"I know we will, Doc," T'maru said. Unfortunately, he was not hopeful they would find his cousins alive. The emergency beacon, which was now coming through loud and clear on both the Venture's wireless and Long Tom's radio, contained a specific message. The message was clear, and it never varied. The lack of variation in the signal did not bode well for the survival of his men (and royal cousins). And the message itself was ominous.

_Turn back, my prince. Turn back before it is too late._

* * *

Renny took a deep breath and leaned against the rail. Because of the high oxygen content of this atmosphere, he resisted the urge to smoke a cigarette.

Another world!

The rest of Doc's crew seemed to just settle into their jobs, as did Englehorn's crew, but Renny found himself too stunned and, to be honest, too terrified to function as he usually did. Renny was no coward, he had his history with Doc and the war medals to prove it. He had never backed away from danger before, but this was different. He looked northwest over the ocean and knew that there was no United States of America in the distance over there. No home, no engineer consultation business, and no sister, brother-in-law, and nephews in Indiana. If they couldn't find the mists again, and according to Denham and Doc they never showed up in exactly the same place twice, they would be stuck here. Forever. Cut off from everything they'd ever known except each other. Just minutes earlier, Renny asked Denham how they had found the mists so quickly after loading Kong in the large hold.

Denham's reply: "Just lucky, I think."

Denham then made a brief, bitter chuckle at his own expense and walked away to perform his duties on the ship.

"Hello, Renny," a familiar voice said.

"Hello, Pat," Renny replied.

"Doc wants you down in the small hold with the Rumbler," Pat said.

Renny nodded and started to leave when Pat took his thick and powerful forearm.

"We're going to be OK, Renny," Pat said. "We're going to get back home, If Englehorn and Denham can get out of here and back to our world, you know Doc will get us there. Doc knew where we were going, Renny. He wouldn't have taken us, and he particularly wouldn't have taken me, if he thought it would be a one way trip."

Renny looked at Pat. He knew that others, including Doc, sometimes underestimated her, which wasn't easy to do. She'd understood what was wrong with him, and she was able to reassure him with what was obvious and true.

Doc wouldn't have brought Pat along if he didn't think that they would be able to come back.

"Thanks Pat," Renny said.

* * *

Monk was working overtime overseeing the siphoning of the Venture's fuel tanks of its usual fuel.

Now the reason why Doc had him make an alternative fuel for both the Rumbler and the Venture was clear. The fuel would not work well at all in their home world (Their _home world_! Monk thought giddily). But here, with the higher oxygen in the atmosphere, not only would the alternative fuel work well, it would be much safer and last much longer. Everything would be much more combustible here. Monk had already confiscated Ham's Zippo. It was probably still safe, but no sense taking chances of the thing blowing up in Ham's hand, even if it was a funny thought.

Now, he just needed to work out a way to safely store the Venture's regular fuel for the voyage back home.

* * *

"Bring us up along the coast and move south if you please, Captain," Savage said to Englehorn. "We'll look for any break in the cliffs."

Englehorn nodded. He had already brought the ship up to the coast as close as the depth soundings from Reynolds indicated was safe. Even so, he would have Reynolds continue to do depth soundings to make sure there weren't any hidden rocks.

Savage's man Roberts and T'maru had already located the crash site for the Wakandan airship to the south and east, in the interior of the land that Englehorn could no longer think of as "Skull Island".

If they didn't find another break in the cliffs, their current course would still bring them to the walled city, or more accurately, the walled graveyard. Not surprisingly, Savage's man Littlejohn seemed particularly interested in seeing the ruins. Remembering how dangerous the savages who lived in the place were, Englehorn had absolutely no interest in going back.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. He was interested in seeing how they would respond to seeing their gorilla god being returned.

* * *

_Kong ate. And ate and ate and ate. _

_In his homeland, Kong spent at least half of his waking hours eating. All of his kind did. He ate primarily vegetation but he also ate fruit and the occasional small creature, particularly insect. _

_The little apes brought him food and continued to bring him food. Much of it was fruit and not all of it was well preserved, but he ate it nonetheless. _

_Still, he wondered how much food this craft could store for him. Hopefully, they would make landfall soon, because his natural appetite had been returned. _

_And he still wondered why they had returned, and why they had brought him with them. _

* * *

T'maru saw it first from a distance.

"Captain Englehorn, I see a crack in the cliffs up ahead."

Englehorn said he didn't see it at first. But Doc did, and soon everyone else did as well. It was hard to miss. It was as if the land itself had pulled itself apart, leaving a narrow passage underneath high cliffs.

"Doc, T'maru," Long Tom said. "The distress beacon is located directly east of here."

"Then that's where we need to go," Doc said.

Englehorn shook his head.

"Even assuming that the channel is deep enough, look at how high and narrow those cliffs are," Englehorn said. "I don't want any boulders falling on us."

"I agree," T'maru said. "But I see a small beach and a scalable cliff about…"

T'maru thought for a minute about what units of measurement to use. Englehorn was German.

"…223 meters give or take a meter from the entrance."

Englehorn turned and stared at T'maru.

"How can you be that precise using just your eyes?" Englehorn asked incredulously.

"That is a national secret of the Wakanda," T'maru answered. It involved the use of multiple herbs that enhanced eyesight and rigorous training in distance. The Black Panther and other Wakandan warriors were trained to pounce like their namesakes, and being able to accurately estimate distance was an important aspect of their training.

"Captain Englehorn," Doc said. "If you can get the ship in that far, then T'maru and I can disembark and search for T'maru's men and airship. Also, if we can get close enough, Kong might be able to disembark as well."

"How do you know he will stay with you and T'maru?" Englehorn asked.

"We don't," Doc replied. "Kong will be free to go and do what he will."

Englehorn turned and looked at Doc.

"And what about the girl?" he asked.

"Hopefully, both she and Kong will realize that it is best that she remain on the ship," Doc said. "And that they part company."

Englehorn snorted.

"Good luck with that," he said. "Just don't let me, my men, and my ship get in the middle of any disagreement you, the girl, and the big gorilla might have on that matter."

Next

Chapter 10

Return of the King

**Yes, I know. I just couldn't resist, seeing as how this fan fiction is related to a Peter Jackson movie and all. **

**You'll notice that I was somewhat vague about the physics. There are two reasons for that. The most important one is that I really don't understand physics that well myself, so the less said the better. The second reason is that even though there will be some technological and scientific anachronisms in this story, given the nature of both Doc Savage and the Black Panther, I am still trying to play at least somewhat honest with the times. Therefore, Doc is brilliant enough to think of an alternative explanation for phenomena explained by the Copenhagen Interpretation, but he stops just short of Hugh Everett III's Many Worlds Hypothesis. **

**That being said, I do have an explanation in mind for the world of Kong as I am presenting it, an explanation that I don't think would have occurred to anyone living in 1933. The evidence is that Earth's moon was created when a "proto-Earth" and another planet approximately the size of Mars collided in the very early history of the solar system (this hypothesis was advanced in the 1970's after analysis of rocks collected from the moon landings, I think). The smaller planet was obliterated in the collision, and most of the proto-Earth was as well. However, the debris from the collision eventually collected to form the Earth (including the iron cores of both worlds) and the moon (made of much lighter material) that we know. Most of the debris collected into the Earth, probably making it more massive than the proto-Earth that existed before. The moon is substantially less massive than the planet that collided with the proto-Earth. Some of the other debris from the collision were jettisoned into space. Some of that debris probably accounts for the near Earth asteroids, including the one that may have ended the reign of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous. At any rate, in the history of Kong's world, instead of colliding with the proto-Earth, the Mars size planet was instead captured by the proto-Earth, becoming its moon in a true bi-planetary system. As a result, Kong's world has slightly less gravity (and enormous tides). Because of continental drift on both Earths, land animals such as dinosaurs and other creatures crossed over from one land to another when the Bermuda gates were over land masses. But now that our Earth's portion of the Bermuda gate hangs over and in ocean, while sea and flying animals still make the transition between worlds, land animals generally do not, unless they are sailing on ships or flying on airplanes. At any rate, this theory was a way to create a Skull Island that made sense to me. **

**The important thing to remember is that this fan fiction is **_**much**_** more accurately described as science **_**fantasy **_**or **_**pseudo-science**_** fiction. I don't have anywhere near the kind of knowledge necessary to make this story science fiction. This, plus the timeframe of late 1933 and early 1934, means that there won't really be an explanation as to how "our" world and the world of Kong are connected. For the sake of the story, it just happens. **

**Finally, the rocky passage was of course influenced by the 1933 movie, The Son of Kong. As to whether there will be actual "sons of Kong" out there, we will have to see. However, a primary villain will soon be introduced. It wouldn't be a Doc Savage story without a sinister genius, and Helstrom just doesn't qualify. **


	10. Chapter 10 Return of the King

**Finally, now is the time for some Kong/Doc Savage/Black Panther style **_**action**_**! The story should pick up from here on out, with a little more phlebotenum concerning the connection between Kong and his **_**people**_**, the crumbling ruins, the Wakanda, and Michael Crichton's Congo. But overall, there will be a lot more action and adventure. There will also be "Skull Island" wildlife galore. Remember, in **_**this**_** story, "Skull Island" is actually a large continent on another Earth with a different but overlapping evolutionary history. Furthermore, other humans have vanished and been lost in this world so the possibilities are pretty big. **

**By the way, the knowledge T'maru displays concerning great apes would come from his living among them in the Wakanda. Gorilla and chimpanzee behavior were not known subjects in 1933 except, of course, to the chimps and gorillas themselves. **

**There will also be a considerable delay between this chapter and the next one. Real life is calling hard on multiple fronts. But so far I have always completed my fan fics, and I definitely plan to return and complete this one! **

**Thanks so much to those of you who are still with me!**

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone!**

**P.S., Tip of the hat to J.R.R. Tolkien for the title of this chapter. The Jackson connection was just too good to pass up.**

Chapter 10

Return of the King

The deck of the Venture was almost deserted. Englehorn was steering the ship, Reynolds was sounding depth readings, and Jimmy Hayes was in the crow's nest watching the high, rocky sides of the channel. There were three other crew members standing at different points of the ship watching for any unexpected obstacles. The rest of the crewmen were tending to the engines or other duties below decks.

Also on the deck, standing respectfully and quietly while Englehorn and his crewmen did their jobs, were Doc Savage, T'maru, Renny, and Long Tom. Long Tom watched the high rocky sides of the channel cautiously. The channel was actually wider than it first appeared, because the sides were so high. Long Tom figured that the channel was about 100 to 200 yards wide. Englehorn kept his ship right in the middle, and the depth readings Reynolds gave were comfortably, at least with regards to the passage of the ship, deep even at low tide.

The cliffs on each side of the channel were high and very steep, probably as high as 500 feet. What was really remarkable was that the cliffs were wet fully one third of the distance to the top. Long Tom realized that between a much more massive moon (capable of supporting an atmosphere and liquid water), and an Earth with approximately 89 percent of the gravity of home, the contrast between low and high tides would be substantially greater.

"We're going to have to climb fast," T'maru said to Doc. "Before the tide rises again."

Doc nodded.

"Are you sure Kong will be able to make it up the cliffs?" T'maru asked.

Both Doc and Renny nodded.

"Easily," Doc said.

"That's for sure!" exclaimed Renny. "You should have seen the big ape fly up the side of the Empire State Building!

"But I'm not so sure about myself."

Long Tom looked at the cliffs. They were sheer and wet. For once, he was grateful that Doc was leaving him behind.

"T'maru and I will do the climbing," Doc said to Renny. "You will row the boat back to the Venture after dropping us off."

Renny's eyes went wide and his long, hound dog face looked almost happy. Long Tom knew that that meant his big friend was disappointed at being left behind. Renny's facial expressions, Long Tom was convinced, had somehow been reversed at birth. The more miserable Renny looked, the happier he was. When he looked like he was smiling, on the other hand, Renny was positively melancholy.

"Buck up, big guy," Long Tom said.

Renny turned and looked at Long Tom. There was nothing wrong with his facial expression for irritation.

"I'll _do_ my part, Long Tom!" Renny snapped. "You _know_ that!"

"We all know that, Renny," said Doc as he gave Long Tom a stern look. Long Tom felt very bad. He had attempted to offer Renny his sympathy, but he was misunderstood, even by Doc. That happened to Long Tom a lot.

"So, are we going to shore here?" a familiar voice asked. Long Tom was startled that she was able to approach without him hearing her. Neither Doc nor T'maru, of course, seemed to be startled at all.

"_Some_ of us are, Miss Darrow," Doc said.

* * *

Kong had taken Ann Darrow out of the hold and gently placed her on the deck. Ann saw the ship maneuvering through the high crevasse. The towering cliffs provided Ann with proof positive that they were back on "Skull Island". The high and steep cliffs, along with Kong and giant reptiles and insects, dominated Ann's memories of the place. Interestingly, she expected to be terrified at her return, but she wasn't, and not just because she had the protection of Kong, Doctor Savage and his crew, and even Jack. Thanks to Pat Savage, who taught her how to apply her already considerable athletic talents in new ways, she felt dangerous herself. It wasn't that she recklessly felt like she was a match for the giant reptiles that nearly ate her the last time she was here, but if the natives were to try to kidnap her again, she was convinced she had some nasty surprises in store for them.

She walked up to Doctor Savage, T'maru, Renny, and Long Tom.

"So, are we going to shore here?" she asked.

"_Some_ of us are, Miss Darrow," Doctor Savage said.

"What does that mean?" Ann asked.

"T'maru, Renny, and I are planning on going to shore to scout this as a suitable place to potentially drop off Kong, if _he_ decides it is safe for him to do so. We think he could scale the cliffs with no problem."

"You're right, he could," Ann confirmed. "Easily. So why do you think he wouldn't want go to shore here?"

"Gorillas are territorial," T'maru said. "Not quite to the extent that chimpanzees are, but we really know very little about Kong's variety of gorilla. We are of the opinion that Kong needs to be among the native flora he eats as soon as possible. But, we are also counting on Kong's awareness of the rules concerning his being outside of his territory."

"So you're thinking there may be _**other **_Kongs who wouldn't welcome his presence here?" Ann asked.

"We think it's a possibility, Miss Darrow," Doctor Savage replied. "We are counting on Kong to know for sure."

"Well, if we're going to do this, Doc, we better do it quick," Renny said. "I think the tide's going to start rising again pretty soon, and it will soon be too deep even for Kong."

"Well, if you want to encourage Kong to get off the Venture here, you may want to take me with you," Ann said. "We know he'll follow me."

* * *

Captain Englehorn maneuvered the Venture as close as he could to the craggy shoreline T'maru had seen. It had already shrunk by half, which meant that the tide was rising again, and rising fast. Doc and his friends deployed the rowboat and soon he, T'maru, Renny, and Ann Darrow were on the boat. Renny and T'maru were rowing them to the shore. Doc was checking the depth with a rope. So far, it was short of 4 fathoms (24 feet) at the deepest extent, which meant that Kong could walk to shore, if he were to do so quickly. Englehorn had managed to maneuver his ship right up next to the rocky shelf.

From the hatch to the Venture's large hold, Kong watched them. He didn't seem angry, but he looked curious.

* * *

_Kong watched as the little yellow headed female spoke with the three (relatively speaking anyway) large males in their sound segmenting language. He wished he knew what they were saying. He missed the conversations he had with his family, but no one had talked to him (in a language he could understand) since the last of his family had been killed. He wondered if there were any of his kind here, and how they would respond to him. Since the invasions of the little apes from large ocean skimming craft, The Families had united to defend themselves and later even tried to drive their enemy back out to sea. So far as Kong was aware, that effort had been a devastating and total failure. Kong's family was already dead at that point, but he had joined in the other Families' effort nevertheless. Indeed, he had helped to lead it. He had fervently hoped ever since that he wasn't the last of his kind because of that conflict. _

_As the little apes got into a smaller craft and went to the shore, Kong became concerned. He was aware of how far and how quickly the water levels would rise. More importantly, he hoped that they knew what kind of predators patrolled waterways like this one._

_When the little craft made it to the shore, the little blond ape and the bronze ape turned and started to shout and wave at him. _

_They were inviting him to shore!_

* * *

Jimmy Hayes watched tensely as Kong started to haul himself out of the large hold. Under Kong's considerable weight, the Venture rocked as the giant gorilla made his way over to the starboard side of the ship. In the crow's nest, Jimmy in particular felt the rocking and was sure Kong would casually snap him from his high perch.

Then, Jimmy was looking down on the top of Kong's head and his enormous silvered back, probably not much more than 15 feet below him. He could smell the great ape's pungent scent, and he could hear Kong's breathing. Kong then made a rumbling vocalization that seemed to come up from below and cause Jimmy's very bones to vibrate.

Then, very carefully, Kong climbed over the edge. The Venture tipped and some of the men below started to yell in alarm. Jimmy was almost certain that the ship would capsize, and that he would be the first to go under water, but then Kong, now with water up to his upper chest while standing on two legs, reached up and steadied the Venture.

Then the great gorilla turned and gingerly started towards shore.

* * *

_Kong felt the rising tide, but he forced himself not to hurry. He knew there would be irregularities in the rocky bottom, and that one hasty move could end up with him being over his head, and unlike the little tufted apes, he could not swim. _

_Eventually, however, the water was shallow enough that he could drop down to all fours. The rocks were slick underneath his feet and knuckles, but he managed to keep his balance. _

_Then he was on shore. He again put out the call, mostly at frequencies that the little tufted apes could not hear. It was well known by Kong's people that much, if not most, of their hearing range was outside that of the little apes. The language of Kong's people was based not on the segmentation of sounds, but on the mixture of a vast range of frequencies, some of which could be heard at great distances. So Kong announced his presence to any of his kind who might be in the area, desperately hoping that he would actually get a response. Kong would have been overjoyed to hear even a suspicious or hostile response if it served to indicate that there were others who had survived the war with the invading little apes. _

_But there was nothing. No response. _

* * *

"Did you feel that?" Doctor Savage asked.

"Yes," T'maru said.

"That vibration?" Renny asked. "Yeah, what _is_ that?"

"Kong is making sounds well below our ability to hear them, but loud enough that we can feel them," T'maru said.

Ann was amazed. She had felt these vibrations several times during the times that Kong held her captive, particularly when he seemed to be trying to communicate with her.

"Do you think he is actually speaking, in his way?" Ann asked Doctor Savage.

"Yes," Doctor Savage answered. "Yes I do. What I don't know is who he is trying to talk to."

* * *

"Jack, this is crazy!" yelled Denham.

Driscoll was forced to agree with Denham even as he climbed over the railing of the Venture's deck. But the rational part of his mind couldn't stop himself. Ann had gone across with Kong. It was obvious to Driscoll that Doc Savage was insane. Driscoll had _told_ him about the site where Kong had obviously killed all the other sacrifices and dumped their bodies, and yet he still insisted that Ann stay with the giant gorilla during the ship ride. Driscoll had hated that, but at least on the Venture the big ape was contained.

But now, Kong was back on his home ground, and _Ann was there with him_. He could take Ann and neither Doc Savage nor the Black Panther would be able to stop him!

For a genius, Driscoll thought, Doc Savage was awfully dumb.

The last thing Driscoll was going to do was stand idly by on the Venture while Ann was within Kong's grasp on "Skull Island".

"Stop it, Jack!" Denham yelled as he grabbed Driscoll's arm. The former movie producer's grip was like a vice.

"Let me go!" Driscoll yelled as he pushed against the side of the ship with all of his might. Denham was strong, stronger than he was, but Driscoll wasn't weak, and because of his greater height they were close to the same weight. Denham grabbed the railing with his other hand, but as he did so he had to shift his grip on Driscoll.

Driscoll wrenched free, and fell into the water.

* * *

"Renny," said Doc. "It's time for you to take Miss Darrow back to the Venture."

"Are you sure _he'll _let us go?" Renny asked, jerking his head towards Kong.

Miss Darrow looked up at Kong. The big gorilla looked back. Miss Darrow reached out towards Kong, and Kong extended his gigantic hand until her fingers brushed his massive middle finger.

"Goodbye," Miss Darrow said. "I hope you understand that I can't stay with you."

Then, as Miss Darrow turned away, Kong gently picked her up and deposited her in the boat.

It was an incredible moment. Renny wasn't sure what Kong was going to do next.

Then, from the direction of the Venture, there came the sound of a distant splash.

* * *

_The little yellow haired crested female reached out with her hands and spoke to him in her sound segmenting language. He reached out and touched her back. He suspected she was saying goodbye. At least he __**hoped**__ she was, because if she wanted to stay here with him, __**that**__ would be insane! _

_To Kong's great relief, she turned away from him towards the little craft. Very gently, he helped her into to the craft._

_Then, from the direction of the larger craft, there came the sound of a splash._

* * *

The water was surprisingly warm, but the impact of hitting the water almost knocked the breath out of Driscoll. Driscoll broke the surface, took a deep breath, and then started to swim to shore. His rational side noticed after awhile that he didn't seem to be getting very far, but in spite of his wet clothes and the difficult going, he wasn't getting as tired as he would have expected, probably because of the higher oxygen content in the atmosphere.

The irrational part of him, the part that answered to one simple imperative, "_save Ann_", didn't notice when Kong put her into the rowboat. For that matter, he didn't notice the boat, now being rowed by Renny _**and **_Doc _**and **_T'maru, rapidly moving towards him. And he didn't hear Ann and the others shouting at him.

* * *

"Man overboard!" Denham yelled.

Jimmy Hays looked down from his precarious perch and saw Mr. Driscoll starting to swim towards the shore. He seemed to be struggling. He saw Doc Savage and T'maru leap into the rowboat with Miss Darrow and Renny. They started to row out towards Mr. Driscoll, all of them shouting at him to hold on.

Kong was standing on shore, making loud grunts of what appeared to be alarm. Or maybe even concern? Jimmy noticed that the water was moving up the rocky shore, and that already there was less than half as much shoreline as there was when Kong had arrived there.

The tide was rising, and it was rising fast.

Then, Jimmy heard another splash from ahead of the ship. He looked up and saw a long, dark shape just under the surface of the water. A shape that was moving rapidly towards Mr. Driscoll!

* * *

_Kong heard the splash, then heard both the little apes on the shore with him and the little apes on the large ocean skimming craft start to shout with alarm. One of their number had fallen into the water! Or perhaps he jumped. They, after all, could do something Kong could not. They could swim. _

_Kong couldn't tell which little ape had fallen or leaped into the water. The small craft was moving with surprising rapidity towards the little ape in the water. Kong looked out toward the larger craft, then he saw, just beyond it, the same dark, sinuous shape under the water that Jimmy had seen. _

_Unlike Jimmy Hayes, however, Kong knew what it was. _

_Roaring with alarm, heedless of the rising water level, Kong ran into the water. _

* * *

Upon hearing the roar of Kong, the irrational side of Driscoll rejoined his rational side, even though both were coming to the same wrong conclusion.

Kong's seen me, he thought, and he is coming to finish me off! I've endangered everyone!

* * *

_**Underneath the surface of the water, a deadly predator moved. Human beings living on another earth would have recognized the creature as a seal. This seal, however, was more than forty feet long and had a long body like a serpent that could coil among the rocks of the channel. **_

_**The giant seal was a solitary predator that hunted in the channels, and specialized in killing fish (some of them quite large) and also any unfortunate terrestrial animal that got caught in the rapidly rising tides**_ _**of this world. He recognized the thrashing sounds of a small terrestrial animal in distress, and then he heard additional sounds indicating that more of the creatures had entered the water. **_

_**There was also something else in the water that was too big to eat, a land animal that was doubtlessly also hoping to get a snack in. **_

_**Determined to win the race for food, the giant seal pushed himself to glide faster through the water. **_

* * *

Reynolds threw the life preserver with attached rope accurately. The ring landed right next to Driscoll's head. It was hard to tell whether Driscoll actually noticed it though.

"_There's a life preserver just to your right, Jack_!" Denham yelled. "_**Grab it**_!"

From up above him, Jimmy Hayes yelled:

"There's something coming towards him!"__

"I see him, Jimmy!" Denham yelled back.

"No, not _Kong_!" Jimmy yelled back. "_**That**_!"

At first Denham couldn't see what the boy was talking about, but then he saw the long dark shape moving towards the struggling Driscoll and the boat.

"Grab the ring, Jack, _**now**_!" Denham yelled.

* * *

Driscoll couldn't see very well, but he could hear the big gorilla splashing towards him. Then he heard Denham yell that there was a life preserver to his right. Then he yelled again.

"Grab the ring, Jack, _**now**_!"

With Kong coming towards him, Driscoll's rational side took control. He grabbed the ring.

* * *

_**The giant seal was confused. The prey had vanished. Then, he saw the prey hanging suspended in the air, moving up. It was clinging to something and was being pulled up. The giant seal picked up speed. Perhaps he could leap out and grab the prey out of the air itself. **_

* * *

_Kong saw the little tufted ape that had fallen off the craft. It was the brave little male that had taken the little yellow haired female from him! _

_Whatever had happened, the little apes on the craft had dropped a rope to the brave little ape in the water, and he had taken it. _

_But Kong saw the long shape of the great predator moving towards him. He had seen these creatures leap out of the water to snatch birds out of the very air. The brave little ape was being pulled up, but not fast enough to escape! _

_Having to run on two legs in high water was awkward, but Kong picked up speed!_

* * *

Driscoll was certain that he was a goner. Kong was rapidly splashing towards him. Driscoll watched his approach with a resigned detachment. He wondered if Ann would still want to be Kong's friend after the big ape pulverized him. Kong's massive hand stretched towards him.

_This is it_, thought Driscoll. _End of the line._

Then, there was an enormous explosion of water to his left. Driscoll turned and all he saw was an immense black mouth containing sharp white teeth, particularly huge canines and carnassials. Two Jack Driscoll's, standing on each other's shoulders, would easily fit within that great mouth! Apparently something was going to get him before Kong did.

Driscoll smelled the horrible, dead fish breath of the huge creature. He tried to close his eyes, but couldn't will them to shut.

Then suddenly, those huge teeth were jerked aside.

With a mighty roar, Kong had grabbed the creature by the scruff of the neck with both hands and pulled him away! Then Kong bit the creature on the back of the neck with his own huge teeth. Driscoll now could see that the creature had whiskers and flippers. The body was very long and most of it was still under water until it started to coil around the great ape.

The long black creature (was it really a _seal_?) produced a surprisingly high pitched squeal and tried to struggle out of the grip of Kong's hands and teeth. It was obvious the huge gorilla could barely keep his balance.

Suddenly, the giant seal managed to whip itself free of Kong's grip. Bleeding from its neck wounds, it coiled back with amazing flexibility and bit Kong on the left arm. Kong pounded it on the head with his right fist, and the creature let go and fell into the water.

Then, his heart sinking, Driscoll saw that the rowboat was now caught in the roiling waters produced by the conflict between two titanic beasts!

* * *

_**In pain and frustrated beyond belief, the giant seal attacked the nearest available target, the other small thrashing creature. He was very surprised to find that it was made of wood!**_

* * *

The head of the giant seal smashed hard into the rowboat, splitting it in two. T'maru, Ann Darrow at his side, fell into the water. As he did so, however, he snatched his sonic spear (which had been lying beside him) out of the air and flicked a bolt that loaded a concentrated steel pellet into the vibranium and steel reed chamber. T'maru then hit the water, but he continued to hold onto the sonic spear. When his head broke the surface of the water, he placed his mouth on the mouthpiece to the spear, and waited.

* * *

_The water had now risen to Kong's mouth. He had long since learned to hold his breath underwater. As a child, he and his older sister-by-father had played by the great creek, sticking their heads into the water and blowing bubbles. Still, if he didn't get to shore very quickly, he would drown here. _

_Kong looked for the giant seal, but didn't see it until its head shattered the surface, breaking the small water skimming craft in two. Kong immediately reached out and grabbed the little yellow headed ape, then placed her in the only safe place he could think of, the top of his head between the brow ridge and the saggital crest. Then he reached out and took the male ape with the dark hair on his head and placed him next to the yellow haired female. But the bronze ape and the dark skinned ape were still in the water with the giant seal!_

* * *

Doc Savage treaded water, his concentration almost completely on what was underneath him. He did not go for the plastic enclosed machine pistol on his belt. Instead he looked around until he saw T'maru, and saw that the Wakandan prince had his sonic spear. Kong was over to his left. Renny and Ann were both clinging to the top of the giant gorilla's head, and the giant gorilla was clearly having to concentrate on keeping his head above water. Soon, very soon, he would have to go back to shore or drown. Assuming that the shore was not already completely underwater.

Doc started to splash around, determined to summon the giant seal to him. T'maru had the more potent weapon between the two of them. If Doc could distract the giant seal towards him, the Black Panther of the Wakandans would have the shot he needed.

Suddenly, Doc heard alarmed shouts from the deck of the Venture, particularly a very recognizable bellow from Monk. Doc shifted his concentration completely towards any movement in the water he was immersed in.

When it came, he was ready.

The giant seal came up from his right, so Doc dived underwater to his left. The water displaced by the giant seal pushed him away from the creature's mouth. Underwater, without eye protection, vision was extremely blurry, but Doc could still see the seal's huge canine. He reached out and grabbed it with his right hand, then swung around and grabbed two of the creature's whiskers with his left, releasing the tooth as he did so. That was when they both erupted out of the water.

* * *

_**Somehow, the small creature had avoided his attack, and was now stuck on the right side of his snout. As he broke the surface of the water, the giant seal tried to shake the little creature off of him.**_

_**Then suddenly, the left side of his body erupted in pain.**_

* * *

When the giant seal came out of the water with Doc clinging to the creature's mouth on the far side, T'maru took his shot. He blew into the reed of his sonic spear. The natural alloy vibranium, forged among metals though an upwelling of the lower mantle and perhaps even the outer core and deposited in the volcanic Wakandan Mountains, had the ability to completely absorb sound waves and store their energy. The skilled metallurgists of the Wakanda had further manipulated the vibranium alloy to create variations of their own. One of those variations was a mixture of vibranium and steel that reflected and amplified sound rather than absorbed it. The cylinder in the sonic spear was made of this material. It perfectly reflected, amplified, and focused the sound waves produced by the wooden reed. The cylinder narrowed down almost to a point, and at the end of that point was a chunk of natural vibranium. Normally the vibranium would simply absorb the sound, but so focused and amplified was the note T'maru blew that part of the vibranium literally exploded, releasing an extremely narrow band of high frequency sound that fired the steel pellet in the spear with much greater force than gunpowder. Furthermore, following the pellet was the narrow beam of focused sound itself.

The pellet pierced the giant seal's side and broke a rib in two. The focused beam of high frequency and high intensity sound that followed sliced through the seal's skin.

The giant seal squealed in pain.

* * *

_**The wound was not fatal, at least not immediately, but it was very painful. The giant seal forgot about pursuing prey and swam away as quickly as he could. He was aware that he was bleeding, and that other predators in the waterway would be attracted to the blood. Few would actually dare to attack him, but to be safe he set out towards the shallows where it would be harder for the sharks and other predatory fish attracted by his blood to pursue him. **_

_**More worrisome were the others of his kind. He had successfully defended this prime territory for many years. Now others of his kind would come, tasting his weakness in the very water and hearing it in his cries. **_

* * *

_Kong saw the blood in the water. He immediately reached out and grabbed both the bronze and the dark skinned apes and held them both above the water with his hands, then set out for the shore. Kong felt more and more underwater creatures bump up against him, probably attracted by the blood, but none were as large as the giant seal. There was an occasional annoying nip, but nothing substantial. _

_More alarming was the rising water. The water seemed to rise with the ground itself, which meant that the water continued to be around the vicinity of his mouth. Walking on two legs, even with the water helping to support him, was very awkward and tiring after a short distance, but Kong could not knuckle walk, the water was too deep. _

_Then, as Kong neared the vertical cliff, the water eventually became shallow enough that he could drop to all fours and deposit the two little apes in his hands onto his back. The dark skinned ape still had his weapon but had not made any threatening motion towards Kong._

_Kong then took the other two apes and moved them from the top of his head to his back, where his hair was longer and would be presumably easier for the little apes to hold onto. _

_The shore was gone because the rising tide had covered it. Kong knew he had no choice but to climb the cliff. He hoped that all four of his little ape companions could hold onto him for the duration of the climb. _

* * *

Englehorn swore as he watched the giant gorilla climb up the side of the cliff. Although the cliff looked sheer, evidently Kong found plenty of handholds and his progress up the cliff was very rapid for such a large creature.

But now he had a problem. He was already down on rowboats (i.e., _**Lifeboats**_) from the last voyage, and now the creatures of Skull Island had succeeded in destroying another one. He was not about to risk one of his two remaining lifeboats in this channel to rescue anyone, even the legendary Doc Savage and the crown prince of the Wakanda. With most of Savage's crew on board, however, he wasn't sure whether he could enforce that position.

Englehorn's thoughts were interrupted when Reynolds and Denham brought a soaking wet Jack Driscoll to him.

Englehorn looked at the playwright turned (temporarily at least) crewman and shook his head.

"What am I going to do with you, Jack?" Englehorn asked.

"Begging your pardon, sir," Denham said. "It is by no means certain that that thing wouldn't have come after the boat on the return trip regardless of what Jack had done."

"Perhaps," Englehorn said. "But the fact of the matter is simply by jumping overboard and trying to swim to shore, he put us all at risk. Mr. Driscoll _**may**_ have attracted the creature with his splashing around, and if Kong really had hated him like we all thought he did, Kong could have attacked him and by extension the ship.

"Mr. Driscoll, you are confined to quarters."

Driscoll looked Englehorn in the eye. Then he simply nodded.

Driscoll was a strong man in love. Englehorn could respect that.

He just couldn't tolerate it.

"What the Hell is he doing?" Reynolds asked.

Englehorn turned and followed Reynolds' gaze. Kong had reached the top of the cliff and put down the four people he had carried with him. Now he was pulling a huge rock out of the ground.

"Oh my God!" someone yelled. It sounded like Hanks. "He's going to throw the rock at us!"

* * *

When Kong pulled the boulder out of the ground (Ann estimated it was about 10 feet long and 4 feet high) Renny, Doctor Savage, and T'maru all looked at one another nervously.

But then Kong simply placed the big rock on the edge of the cliff. Then he looked around until he found another rock of about the same height, picked it up, and placed it about 3 feet away from the other one.

By the time Kong put a third rock on top of the other two to make what looked like a crude bridge, Ann already understood what he was doing. She didn't think even the three extremely bright men with her knew what he was doing until he tore the bark off of a tree and placed it in between the bottom two rocks.

Then, when Doctor Savage started to trill, she knew he understood.

* * *

"What is he doing?" Pat asked.

The piece of wood that Kong placed between the bottom two rocks appeared to finish whatever it was the big ape wanted to make.

"I…be…superamalgamated!" whispered Johnny.

Kong then roared towards the ship. Those few crewmen on deck who were not attending to Kong turned and looked.

Looking right at the Venture, Kong then patted the top rock on his three rock pile with his left hand. Then he pointed out to the open sea.

"Johnny," Pat asked. "_What_ is he doing?"

It took Johnny two tries before he could actually speak. Kong had just validated everything Doc had said about him!

"He's telling us where to meet him."

* * *

Denham looked at the rock structure that Kong built, the structure that so obviously resembled the wooden gate on the great wall at the city of the dead!

Once again, he was forced to ask himself the question:

_What did I do?_

Kong knew how to signal the Venture. _**Kong knew how to signal the Venture**_!

And _Denham_ had put this intelligent and sensitive creature in chains and on stage to be mocked by New York's bored and wealthy elite!

* * *

Kong roared and repeated his actions; patting the top rock on his pile, then pointing out to open sea.

Jimmy felt a crushing tidal wave of emotion. Fresh grief for Mr. Hayes was combined with the horrifying realization that his surrogate father was not killed by a monster, but by an intelligent creature defending his home.

* * *

Kong saved my life.

_**Kong **__saved my life!_

Kong had no reason to grab the giant seal _except_ to save his life, Jack Driscoll realized.

And any lingering question he had about Kong's intentions had been answered by the giant gorilla's signal to the people on the Venture.

_Meet us at the walled city of the dead._

* * *

Englehorn stood on the deck of his ship. His world had changed.

Kong had ridden almost the entire voyage to "Skull Island", through an opening between two _worlds_, awake. He had gone to shore, calmly, when he was offered the opportunity, although he could have easily turned around and capsized the Venture.

On the return trip, he had been treated as a passenger instead of a prisoner.

And when he arrived back home, Kong had reciprocated.

_He was __**grateful**_.

Kong repeated his signal one more time before turning to the four people with him. He took Ann Darrow and placed her on his back. Then he walked slowly away from the side of the cliff and into the rainforest. He walked slowly, Englehorn was certain, so that the three men on foot could keep up.

"Look lively, men!" Englehorn shouted. "We're _leaving_!"

Englehorn was determined to be there waiting when Kong arrived at the city of the dead.

* * *

As Helstrom went to work he wondered what the big deal was.

Next

Chapter 11

The Airship and the Galloping Crocodiles


	11. Chapter 11 The Airship and the Galloping

Chapter 11

The Airship and the Galloping Crocodiles

Renny was expecting a long and hot hike as he, Doc, and T'maru followed Kong and Ann Darrow away from the side of the cliff and into the jungle. However, long before Renny got tired, no more than half a mile inland, Kong stopped in the middle of a particularly large group of trees. The trees were truly gigantic, at least the size of California redwoods, but green and tropical with pitch black trunks. Huge vines as thick as the trunks of large oaks formed a complex green net between the branches of the trees. On the ground it was dark, almost twilight, but with dapples of sunlight here and there. For the most part, the ground was bare except for immense fallen logs, around which grew many plants and mushrooms up to 7 feet wide. High in the trees there was a riot of sounds; the calls of birds, frogs, insects, and probably other creatures, some of which sounded familiar but many of which sounded alien. Renny had traveled the world, but never had he seen any place like this.

Not surprising, since this forest was not part of the world he had traveled.

Kong looked up thoughtfully at the largest of the trees and gently pulled Ann Darrow off his back and placed her next to Doc. Then, he started to climb the huge tree. Renny thought it was probably as tall as a midsized New York skyscraper. Kong continued to climb until he shoved his way through the network of vines. From that height, even _he_ looked small. Then, he stopped among the branches.

Doc took out a set of binoculars.

"What's he _doing_, Doc?" Renny asked.

"He's eating," Doc said, handing the binoculars to Renny. Renny looked and sure enough, Kong was stripping off huge branches, each longer than he was, and eating off the leaves. After stripping a branch of leaves, he then tossed them away. Most of them were caught by some of the vines but one of them fell all the way to the ground, about 100 yards away from their position, with a terrific crash.

"I think we're going to be here awhile," T'maru said. "He probably hasn't had enough to eat since he was taken from here."

"I imagine you're correct," Doc said. "He would have to eat an enormous amount to maintain that enormous body."

And sure enough, Kong ate, and ate, and ate.

* * *

Carl Denham was once again standing just off the stage of the Alhambra Theater, looking at the shattered body of Crystal Evans. Her eyes were wide open, staring into eternity as her head rested on a pillow of blood and bloodied brain matter.

"Well, Carl," a familiar voice said. "Is this your latest victim?"

Denham turned and saw his sound recordist Mike standing next to him. His blood was running out of his chest, not surprising since one of the natives of "Skull Island" had run him through with a spear.

"Her name was Crystal Evans," Denham said, regret once again placing a huge weight in his chest. "But no, she wasn't the latest victim. It might be _that _poor devil."

So saying, Denham pointed out into the theater, and sure enough, a broken body crawled out from among a shattered row of seats.

"What happened to _him_?" another familiar voice asked.

Denham turned to look at Herb, the camera man. He also was crawling along the floor. Like the man crawling out of the row of seats, Herb was a crushed mess. In his case, however, he also had some large dinosaur sized bites taken out of him.

"Kong stepped on him," Denham said. "I don't think he meant to."

"You think he didn't mean to do this to me?" Crystal Evans croaked from the floor.

"Or to me?" asked the original Mr. Hayes, his spine twisted by the impact of Kong's throw and fall into a crevasse.

"Or to me?" asked Lumpy, his voice distorted by the gigantic slug/worm thing covering his head.

Denham shook his head.

"No, I don't think he _did_ mean it, he…was defending himself," Denham said. "We invaded his home, and we kidnapped him, so naturally he was angry. It wasn't his fault, it was mi…"

"And what about _us_?" another voice asked. Denham turned and was stunned to see Ann Darrow, her body similarly shattered. Staggering on each side of her were Jack Driscoll and Josef Englehorn, also possessing fatal injuries.

"Yes Carl, your obsession with Skull Island and Kong has gotten us all killed," Doc Savage said, his neck broken. Standing beside him were his aides, and Pat, all of them horribly mangled. "If not now, then soon."

"The monster must be stopped," Mr. Hayes said. "He must be stopped _now_!"

"You're right, Mr. Hayes," Denham said, knowing that Doc was right. _He_ had set this tragedy in motion. _He_ was the monster, and he was willing to face the consequences. "_I_ need to be stopped."

Denham stood and waited for the justice of the dead. But he was ignored as the dead staggered and crawled around him. Denham turned, and standing there, grunting in terror, was Kong. No longer gigantic, the once great gorilla was indeed shrinking even as Denham watched, until the dead humans towered over him. The dead then started to kick the gorilla to death.

"**No**!" Denham yelled. "**Stop**! _**I'm **_**the monster!**__**Not**_** him**_! _**Please**_!"

Denham fell to his knees.

"No more!" he sobbed. "_No __**more**_!"

Mike, his chest and back still leaking gore, staggered back to Denham. He held the head of Kong in his hand. The head of Kong stared reproachfully at Denham.

"Your latest victim," Mike said, his free hand falling on Denham's shoulder.

Then Mike began to shake him. And Denham heard a loud banging noise.

"Carl, wake _up_!"

Jack Driscoll was shaking him awake. Someone was pounding on the door of their cabin.

"What's going _on_ in there?" Monk squeaked angrily.

Driscoll turned to the door, his voice rising slightly.

"It's alright, Dr. Mayfair," Driscoll said. "He's awake now."

Denham rubbed his head.

"Another nightmare?" Driscoll asked.

"Yeah, another nightmare," Denham said. "How do _you_ know that I've been having nightmares, anyway?"

"You can't be _serious_, Carl," Driscoll said. "Every night, you've been moaning and talking in your sleep. Talking and pleading with somebody, telling them over and over again that 'I'm sorry'."

Denham chuckled bitterly at the thought that he was so transparent.

"Fat lotta good that's doing me, huh, Jack?" Denham said. "Being _sorry_."

"It must have been worse this time," Driscoll said.

"Why do you say that?" Denham asked.

"Because this time, you were screaming yourself hoarse," Driscoll replied.

Monk knocked on the door again, this time much more gently.

"Hey, Carl," Monk said. "Come out here for a second. I wanna _talk_ to you."

Denham and Driscoll looked at one another.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Driscoll asked.

"No," Denham said. "Besides, you're confined to quarters, remember?"

"Carl," Driscoll said. "He's pretty mad at you, and he looks like he can do something about it."

"He can," Denham said. "But it's nothing more than I deserve."

So saying, Denham stood up and opened the cabin door and went outside. Standing off to the side in the narrow passageway was Monk. The chemist was so wide his shoulders practically touched the walls on each side of the corridor. The apelike chemist was wearing a nightshirt. Under the nightshirt, his legs and bare feet were so hairy they looked furred.

"Monk, it's the middle of the afternoon," Denham said. "Why are you dressed for bed?"

"Like you guys, we're workin' in shifts," Monk said. "I got the late shift, so I'm trying to get some shuteye now."

"And I woke you up," Denham said. "I'm sorry, Monk. In fact I can never tell you how sorry I am."

"Somehow, I don't think you're talkin' about keeping me awake anymore," Monk said.

"I know you're _never_ gonna forgive me, Monk," Denham said. "And if you want to take a poke…"

"I dunno," Monk said, interrupting Denham.

"What?" said Denham.

"I dunno if I ever _can _forgive you," Monk said. "What happened to Crystal, and your recklessness in bringing something like _Kong_ into a crowded theater…I'll _never_ know what you were thinkin'."

Monk then shook his head violently.

"But that _ain't_ what's important right now," Monk continued. "'Cause you already _know_ all that. So instead, I wanna ask you a question:

"What do people say when they want revenge?"

"_What_?" Denham said.

"What do they _say_, Carl?" Monk asked again.

"I don't know," Carl said. " 'You'll pay for this', 'You'll regret this', 'I'll make you wish you were never born', 'You'll rue the day'?"

"Close enough, yeah," Monk said. "So what do they _mean_ by that?"

"They mean that they want you to feel the pain that you caused them," Carl said.

"Yeah, go on," Monk said.

"Who do you think you are now, _Sigmund Freud_?" Denham asked. In spite of his feelings of guilt, he was starting to feel a bit irritated with his erstwhile friend.

Monk smiled, but refused to be taken off of his verbal tack.

"_Why _do they want you to do that?" Monk asked. "Feel their pain, I mean?"

"So that you know what you did was _wrong_, I guess," Denham said.

"Right," Monk said. "Carl, you are probably the most single minded guy I've ever known, and I've known plenty of _other_ single minded guys. You were single minded as a pilot, you were single minded as a movie director, and now _you're single minded in your penance_.

"So you see? Taking a poke at you would be redundant. You torment yourself with nightmares, you'd work yourself to _death_ if Englehorn would let you. Hell, you refused to let the shyster and Doc set up a lawsuit fund for you like they did for Englehorn. If you ever get back to the home world, you'll be flat broke."

"In case you hadn't noticed, pal," Denham said. "There's a lot of that going around right now. Difference is, I _deserve _to be miserable."

Monk shrugged.

"Fine," Monk said. "I ain't gonna interfere, but I just wanted you to know where I stood. We may never really be friends again, but you don't have to look over your shoulder for me, 'cause I ain't interested in addin' to the penalty you're already inflicting on yourself."

Denham nodded.

"OK," he said.

"Which brings me to the _real_ reason why I wanted to talk to you," Monk said. "The fact of the matter is, Carl, me and the guys, we still _trust_ you. Soon, we're gonna be at the walled city of the dead, as you call it. We're gonna take the Rumbler and me and the boys, and probably Pat as well, will be leavin' the ship to do some explorin' with Doc, Renny, T'maru, and maybe even the big ape. Hopefully, they will have brought Miss Darrow back so that she can be safe on the ship."

"So what are you asking?" Denham said. "I can't come with you guys. I made a deal with Englehorn. I'm working for _him_ now."

"I ain't invitin' you to come with us," Monk asked. "Do you trust him?"

"Who, _Englehorn_?" Denham said. "_Absolutely_! Englehorn's mercenary, true enough, but he's mercenary within the limits of honor and loyalty."

"Well, I'm glad _you_ trust him," Monk said. "'Cause I sure as hell don't trust a lot of that crew. Most of 'em are terrified, and I think most of 'em would leave us marooned here in an instant if they got half the chance.

"We'll be countin' on _you_ to watch our backs, Carl. _Don't_ let them leave us in the lurch."

* * *

_Kong paused in his eating to look at the crowns of the food trees around him, as well as the many other kinds of plants growing in the canopy itself. The signs his people left when feeding were quite distinct from those left by other creatures. The trees __**did**__ show signs of other kinds of feeding, such as the stripping of lower branches by the long necks, but it was clear that none of his people had fed in these trees in years. _

_Once again, Kong wondered if he was the sole survivor of the losing side of a war. _

_Still, for the first time in a very long time, Kong had companions, and they probably needed to eat as well. So Kong looked around until he saw the tree he was looking for. He climbed down until he was at the level of the network of very thick and very strong vines. Then, very carefully and gingerly, he used the vines to climb across from one tree to the other._

* * *

Ann watched through Doctor Savage's binoculars as Kong climbed along the thick vines from one tree to another, smaller tree. However, even this smaller tree was several hundred feet tall.

"Truly remarkable," T'maru said. "In my homeland, adult gorillas spend their lives on the ground. They are too large to climb the trees. Here, even though Kong is far larger than any gorilla I have ever seen, he seems to be very much at ease high in the canopy."

"I've never seen trees like_ these_, though," Renny said. "Even in California."

Although Ann had never been farther west than Chicago, she had seen pictures of the great red wood trees in California. She'd forgotten how small she felt here. And that, in turn, brought back memories of the other creatures of this forest.

"I would feel better if we were to move under the tree that Kong's in now, Doctor Savage," Ann said. "The only time I ever seemed to have any measure of safety here is when I was close to him."

"Don't worry, sister," Renny said. "I think between the three of us, we can protect you."

"I am sorry, Mr. Renwick," Ann said. "I am well aware of your reputation but you have not seen some of the other creatures that live here. _I_ have. Your guns, even the Prince's…what did you call it?"

"Sonic spear, that's a rough English translation," T'maru said.

"…sonic spear, will not protect us from some of the predators I've seen here, especially the two legged ones," Ann continued.

"Two legged ones?" Renny asked.

"She means the therapods," Doctor Savage said.

"You mean _dinosaurs_?" Renny said. "I haven't seen any of those yet."

"They're here all the same, Mr. Renwick," Ann said. "And I pray that Kong's presence keeps them away, because these dinosaurs are bigger even than the Tyrannosaurus skeleton I saw in the museum.

"And they're _smart_. Not as smart as _him_," so saying, Ann pointed to Kong up in the tree. "But they know what they are about."

T'maru started to talk to Doctor Savage in another language. Doctor Savage replied.

"What's happening, Mr. Renwick?" Ann asked the big engineer, who stood next to her as they watched the other two men talk to each other.

"I don't know," Renwick said. "I speak a number of different languages, but I don't speak Wakandan."

Doctor Savage finished talking to T'maru. T'maru picked up his sonic spear, checked a couple of pouches on his belt, and started to jog away.

"Where is he _going_?" Ann asked.

"T'maru has identified the probable location of his airship, and is going to the crash site to see if there are any survivors," Doctor Savage said. "_We'll _stay here with Kong."

"Doc, why aren't you going with him?" Renwick asked.

"Because," Doctor Savage said. "In this case I would probably slow T'maru down."

"Doc, I can't imagine you slowing _anyone_ down," Renny said.

"Oh, make no mistake, Renny," Doctor Savage said to his friend. "I know that I could keep up with T'maru _physically_. However, I don't have his experience in moving through wilderness, particularly tropical wilderness."

"With all due respect, Doctor Savage," Ann said. "The only people I know with _any_ experience in moving through this particular jungle are the crew of the Venture, Carl Denham, Jack Driscoll and myself. Here, T'maru _won't_ be dealing with lions and leopards."

As if to punctuate what she said, Ann heard Kong roar from the tree overhead. Ann looked up just in time to see the great gorilla climbing down the second tree. His climb down seemed to be a little more awkward than the climb up, and Ann soon realized why. Kong was holding something in his right hand.

* * *

_Kong continued to eat the sweet fruit, looking for a particular juicy looking one to take down to his companions. Then, Kong looked down, and saw the little dark skinned ape slipping away from the others in the group._

_Foolish little creature, Kong thought. Did he not know the dangers of the forest?_

"_**Stop!" **__Kong cried, although he knew the dark skinned little ape wouldn't understand what he was saying. Kong grabbed one of the smaller fruit laden branches and with some difficulty peeled it off the trunk of the tree he was occupying. Kong then tried to throw the branch in the little ape's path. However, Kong watched as the little dark skinned ape easily hurtled over the branch that he had hurled into his path. Kong was reminded of the agility of the little bronze ape, who was still standing next to the little blond ape and the little dark haired ape. _

_Kong snatched two of the sweet fruits, and started to climb down. _

* * *

T'maru was touched by Kong's effort to keep him from wandering away. It was a pity really. They had no way to explain to Kong why he was leaving.

T'maru moved like his namesake. Instead of one easy jog, he moved with bursts of cat-like speed from under one tree to another. Recalling what Miss Darrow had said about the giant insects living in the fallen logs, T'maru avoided them.

After making certain that he wasn't being followed by the giant gorilla, either on the ground or in the canopy, T'maru stopped and pulled a device from one of his belt packs. The device was a small radio with a sensitive antenna. The radio was invented by himself and M'channa, the woman he was planning on marrying when he returned home. M'channa was a physicist, and together they had used the mineral wealth of the Wakanda to create a solid state semiconductor switch that was far smaller than the vacuum tubes that had been in use in the Wakanda over previous centuries (and which were now being used in the outside world). Using the radio, T'maru soon got the signal from the downed airship. The signal was fading, but it was still strong enough. T'maru then picked up the signals from Doc's and Long Tom's hovering beacons which were still moving alongside the Venture. The ship had already proceeded down the coast several miles to the south, but the signals allowed T'maru to triangulate the location of the airship.

T'maru started to move through the gigantic forest once again.

* * *

The fruits that Kong brought down were bright green. They were both the size of large watermelons, but spherical. The skin was very hard, much like the shell of a walnut, but more pliable. Doc took out his knife and, with a great deal of effort, pushed the point through the skin of the fruit. When he pulled the knife out, it was covered in a reddish juice. He brought the blade to his nose and smelled the juice. It smelled both sweet and tart. Doc touched his tongue to the blade. The juice was delicious. He looked up at Kong, who was watching him intently.

.

"Thank you," Doc said as he nodded to the giant gorilla. In response, Kong made a snorting noise and jerked his head up and down, almost in an echo of Doc's nod. Then he looked nervously in the direction T'maru had gone.

"T'maru will be fine," Doc said, knowing there was no way that Kong would understand what he was saying.

Doc then started to cut into the fruit in earnest. Soon, he, Renny, and Miss Darrow were all dining on the delicious red meat of the fruit. The fruit was extremely juicy, containing both a sweet red juice and a more diluted semi-clear juice, so they were getting hydrated as well as fed.

Kong was taking good care of them.

* * *

About two hours after T'maru left Kong, Doc and the others, it began to rain, and rain hard. T'maru found his clothes soaked in seconds, and he briefly considered taking them off. There were good reasons why people endemic to jungles did not wear much in the way of clothes. Wet clothes weighed people down, and they provided mediums for the growth of parasitic fungi. However, there were also advantages in this case. Although there appeared to be a relatively rich volcanic soil in some places, much of the ground was rocky. T'maru noticed that most of the rocks were volcanic, particularly basalts. The boots he was wearing in particular would protect his feet from the sharp edged rocks. So far, he had seen little evidence of much in the way of sedimentary rock on this continent. Also interesting was the jagged nature of the ground. The surface was cracked, and some parts of the surface jutted up well above the other parts of the surface. T'maru had some theories about why that was, and he would be interested in talking to Johnny and Doc about them.

But such discussions were for another time, however. For the moment, T'maru concentrated on maintaining his direction, and on his environment. He had listened enough to the accounts of Miss Darrow, Jack Driscoll, and the crew of the Venture to know that this was a very dangerous environment.

The rain continued to increase, and in spite of the partial shelter provided by the high canopy, T'maru soon had difficulty seeing very far ahead. He started to look for some sort of shelter, and after perhaps another half mile of hard going, found the dim outline of a rocky overhang. He made his way to it.

Under the outcropping, T'maru's vision cleared, and he immediately saw that he wasn't alone. He was fascinated by what he saw. Also taking shelter from the rain were a variety of animals. The smallest were rat sized (indeed, that was _exactly_ what they appeared to be, rats). There were larger animals of various species that appeared to have the heads of rodents placed on the bodies of graceful antelope. The feet were naked and hand-like, with long claws at the end. Already digitigrade, these animals appeared to actually run on their toes, like antelope. When the animals grimaced as they scratched themselves, T'maru saw their front teeth, which confirmed that they were indeed rodents.

Also under the overhang were larger creatures, the size of rhinos or hippos. At first, they looked to T'maru like large fur covered mammals of some sort, until he got a closer look and saw that the "fur" was actually a sort of greenish brown feathery down, and that the heads were recognizably similar to duck billed dinosaurs! The animals had longer hind legs than front legs, but they were quadrupeds and hopped like huge rabbits, their large and fat tails acting as a counter balance. All of the animals, from the antelope like rodents to the down covered duck billed dinosaurs, appeared to be nervous.

Miss Darrow and the crew of the Venture were correct, there _were _dinosaurs in this strange and alien world! Once again, T'maru found himself wishing that his two new blood brothers, Johnny and Doc, were with him.

Water rushed down and over the outcropping, forming a waterfall curtain that obscured vision beyond the overhang. Flooding also began to run up and over T'maru's feet and the feet of the creatures hiding with him. This seemed to make the creatures nervous. One of the smaller antelope like rodents screamed, and T'maru turned and saw that the creature was being dragged into a crack in the back of the overhang by a centipede that was at least eight feet long!

The other rodents were clearly nervous in response to the screaming of their fellow as it was pulled into the crack by the great centipede, but they refused to leave their shelter, and T'maru realized that the creatures were all watching and listening intently to something outside of the waterfall curtain. Further down the overhang, the duck billed dinosaurs also appeared to be watching and listening intently.

Something was out there. The next moment, T'maru heard an exhale of breath from something very large. Then suddenly, the rodents and the duck billed dinosaurs both started screaming (or honking) and running out from under the overhang. One of the larger rodents, the size of a large antelope, ran right in front of T'maru. The next second, something stuck its head through the waterfall curtain and grabbed the giant rodent with a bone crunching bite.

T'maru watched in amazement as the creature, standing half-way into the overhang, tilted its great head back to swallow the large rodent whole. T'maru estimated that the creature, based on what he could see, was at least twenty five feet long!

It was a crocodile, or at least crocodilian, but it was like no crocodile T'maru had ever seen. Its forelegs were completely under the body, rather than sprawled out to the side, which made it look agile and well able to run and run quickly. The head was deeper and the snout was blunter, and the creature's eyes faced somewhat more forward than a typical crocodile's eyes would. This was a crocodile clearly adapted for a completely terrestrial existence.

The creature looked at T'maru. T'maru looked back at the creature as he slowly brought his sonic spear to his mouth. However, as the creature lowered its head when it finished swallowing its prey, it turned away, either to look for other prey, or because it was satisfied with the kill it had.

T'maru slowly crept forward. The waterfall curtain was fading into multiple trickles, and the flood waters under the outcropping were receding. T'maru ran quickly through the fading waterfall, hunching his body over his sonic spear (no need to let the spear, with its reed, get any more unnecessary water exposure). Outside was chaos. Giant antelope like rodents and down covered duck billed dinosaurs were running and hopping in all directions, and running among them were six agile "land crocodiles", some of which actually looked like they were galloping!

The crocodiles did not seem to be cooperating, each of them were pursuing their own prey. On a couple of occasions, two land crocodiles would go after the same prey, and the larger beast would turn and snap at the smaller beast, and the smaller beast would turn to look for different prey.

One of those smaller land crocodiles (although it was still at least 18 feet long) turned towards T'maru after being discouraged from pursuing other prey by one of its larger fellows. After staring at him for a few seconds with unblinking reptilian eyes, the creature ran with frightening quickness towards the crown prince of the Wakanda! T'maru, in response, dropped to a knee and blew in his sonic spear. The steel ball, propelled by small amount of vibranium alloy exploded through sound, flew into the roof of the creature's open mouth, and out through the back of its skull. The creature fell head first and, water spraying from each side of the head, slid to a halt on the stony ground not less than six feet in front of him. Other land crocodiles turned from their pursuit of prey and turned towards their fallen conspecific. They rushed forward and started to tear at the dead body. T'maru moved cautiously past the raucous cannibalistic feast. He didn't take the time to slide another pellet into the spear. In that sense, the spear was much like the old single shot muskets used by the outside world. However, unlike the muskets, the vibranium "gun powder" was still in the shaft, and blowing on that could still produce a potentially deadly stream of sound. Fortunately, none of the blunt faced land crocodiles challenged him, and soon he was past them.

The rain had stopped. T'maru resumed his trek towards the downed airship. However, after about another half mile, he dropped to his knee and put another steel pellet into the sonic spear.

Better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

As the rains started to fall, Kong gave what sounded like a short grunt of alarm and placed his nose to the ground.

"What is he doing?" Renny asked.

"I think he's trying to pick up T'maru's scent," Ann Darrow said.

"Actually, Ham told me that apes don't have any better sense of smell than humans do," Renny said.

Doc smiled inwardly. For some reason the lawyer Ham was fascinated by the work of scientists such as Robert Yerkes and Wolfgang Kohler and their studies of apes. It probably had something to do, at least at first, with looking for material to needle Monk with. Ham in particular appeared to be fascinated when Doc expressed his theories on Kong's intelligence.

"Actually, Renny, I think Miss Darrow is correct," Doc said. "Keep in mind that the cells in Kong's body are not proportionally larger than ours, they are the same size as ours. That means more of every kind of cell, and that includes the neurons lining the nose and the total number of cells in the olfactory lobe."

"So you're saying that Kong's sense of smell is greater than ours simply because he's _bigger_ than us," Renny said.

"It's the same basis as his increased intelligence," Doc said.

The rain started to fall harder, and almost without realizing it, the three humans all moved to stand under Kong. However, Kong gave another grunt and ran away and up another one of the giant trees. Because of the intensity of the downpour, Doc wasn't able to see much of anything when he looked up. The three ended up standing together miserably with their heads down. Then there was a terrific crash, and the next moment, there was relief from the rain. Doc looked up and saw Kong holding the largest leaf he had ever seen. The leaf was at least twenty feet wide at its widest extent and thirty feet long. Kong held it like an umbrella, and even though rain still blew in, things were much drier.

"It's probably a good thing it rains like this here," Renny said. "Considering the oxygen content in the atmosphere, I'd hate to be caught in a forest fire here."

Doc nodded. He noticed that most of the fallen logs he'd seen were blackened with fire damage.

The rain lasted about 25 minutes. Fortunately, they were standing on a relatively higher stretch of land, but Doc could see water running from where they were standing to the lower elevations. If there had been much more rain, Kong would have needed to pick them up to keep them from washing away.

When the rains stopped, Kong's immense hand came down and picked up Miss Darrow, then Renny, and finally Doc himself. As resolute and as intelligent as Doc was, he found it very unnerving to be picked up by a giant gorilla. Kong waited for them all to get a strong grip on the wet hair on his back. It was somewhat harder to hold onto but they could still get a good grip.

Then Kong started to run through the forest, stopping on occasion to scent the ground.

"I hope the rain didn't wash away T'maru's scent," Ann said.

"I agree," Doc replied.

* * *

T'maru found the airship on top of a small plateau jutting about thirty feet above the ground around it. T'maru climbed up the cliff and looked at the remains of the airship. It was mostly intact, but irreparably damaged. T'maru guessed that the ship had run into the fog that had cut visibility, and then the crew became disoriented due to the opposite polarity of _this_ Earth. J'halla had tried to avoid the cliff face but had not pulled up all the way in time.

Around the remains of the airship T'maru saw some large bones, most of them broken up. He crept forward towards the airship, and then found something wedged in one of the cracks in the rock.

It was a human foot, mostly intact but only a foot, with tendon and bone jutting from where it was attached to a human leg.

Holding his sonic spear, T'maru crept further towards the air ship until he reached the mostly intact cabin.

There, he found the body of his good friend and pilot J'halla being worried by several multicolored birds.

At least, he thought they were birds at first. But then he noticed the reptilian heads, and that their "wings" were actually arms with long clawed hands. They weren't very big, not much larger than large song birds, but they were obviously small feathered dinosaurs!

"_**Get away from him**_!" T'maru yelled in Wakandan. He swung his sonic spear around at the small creatures. One of them was struck by the blade of his spear and fell bleeding to the floor of the cockpit. The others scattered chittering out of the cockpit, but they didn't go far before they turned and looked at T'maru and the corpse of his friend with unblinking eyes. T'maru, grief in his heart, looked at the body of his friend. He had been killed on impact. He had probably saved the other two men in his final act of piloting.

At least, he had saved them from the crash.

T'maru moved through the cockpit to the main passenger area. There was a large gash on the opposite side of the airship. There was blood on the floor, and some of the seats had been torn loose as if something huge had pushed its way inside. T'maru found a sonic spear, intact, with a bloody hand print on the shaft. He climbed through the gash onto the ground outside and found another sonic spear, this one broken in two. He found what looked like part of a human tibia, but nothing else.

Evidently, his cousins A'hati and U'challa had fought to protect themselves from something, but failed. It was possible that one of them had survived, but it seemed improbable. Neither would have left the other behind. More to the point, even if the other was beyond saving, the survivor would not have left his sonic spear behind.

T'maru went back into the airship and the cockpit, once again scattering the little feathered dinosaurs, and shut off the distress signal. He then picked up the intact sonic spear, Doc knew how to use one, and prepared to backtrack towards Kong and his companions.

He would use one of the spears to dig a shallow hole in an area of soft ground to bury J'halla. Although he had little doubt that something would dig his friend's body up again, it was the best he could do. He went over to J'halla's body and undid the safety straps. Then he started to drag the body outside.

But as he stepped out of the cockpit, he knew that he was being watched.

* * *

_The rain made following the little dark skinned ape's trail difficult, but fortunately the rain was of relatively short duration, and Kong could still find flashes of his scent here and there. Unfortunately, Kong could smell another, more powerful storm approaching, one that would obliterate the little ape's trail. It was best to find him before that happened. _

_Then, Kong saw the overhang. He also found shredded remains of one of the land crocodiles. The creatures hunted in groups, but not cooperatively, unlike the two legged predatory dinosaurs of various sizes. The creatures were not inclined to kill one another for food, but they were perfectly willing to eat their dead. _

_Thus, it was probable that something else had killed it. Perhaps the little dark skinned ape and his peculiar metal weapon?_

_Kong approached the overhang, and discovered the little ape's scent was stronger there. He must have stopped there to wait out the storm! Better yet, the trail out from the overhang was strong, obviously laid out after the storm had ended. _

_Kong followed the little ape's trail. He moved quickly, hoping to find the little creature before the rains started again. _

* * *

T'maru looked around. The plateau was largely treeless itself except for one corner, but it was surrounded by trees on each side that towered well above the plateau. When he looked up, T'maru could see the blue of the sky. He realized that he had no idea when the sun set here. There was no reason to suspect that the days were the same length here as they were on the Earth back home. Indeed, with a larger (albeit apparently more distant) moon, the rotation of this Earth was probably a bit slower, which would mean longer days with correspondingly longer nights.

Not too far away, T'maru heard what sounded like a cough.

* * *

**She watched, hidden by the trees in the forested corner of the plateau. Alongside her was her mate, who was no more than half of her size. It was another one of the small mammals, like the ones they had seen here when they had followed the land crocodiles here. The land crocodiles were among her kind's favorite prey, because they provided two course meals. The crocodiles were one course while their would be prey served as the second course. Unfortunately, by the time she and her mate had arrived, the crocodiles had already succeeded in taking the smaller prey (but not before two of their number had themselves fallen to the little mammals' sting).**

**Her mate licked his chops with his extremely long tongue. She coughed at him to warn him not to attack yet. The two legged little mammals were slow, but they were sometimes capable of inflicting impressive stings. But he was young and inexperienced. It had just been within the last month that he had succeeded in killing and replacing her previous mate. **

**The little mammal was dragging another one out of…whatever it was. The second little mammal was dead, and the scent coated both the inside of her nose and the outside of her tongue. Hunger made her mouth water. Her mate would not be able to hold off of his attack much longer. That would be fine, she thought, as long as he knew who would get to feed first. And the creatures were so small she doubted that she would leave anything for her mate. **

**Then suddenly, she heard a roar. The little mammal turned in the direction of the roar. **

**She recognized the roar. She hadn't heard one in years, probably not since before her current mate had hatched. Her mate lifted his head and sniffed the air in idle curiosity. He didn't know what that roar represented, but she did. **

**It was a large mammal, very similar to the small mammals, but **_**far**_** more dangerous. She was not about to risk the welfare of herself or the eggs she was carrying in a confrontation with such a creature. She turned and snapped at her mate. He hissed back at her, so she snapped again. She was not in any mood to accept any rebellion from her young and stupid mate. **

**He turned and hesitantly left, walking down the relatively smooth incline down from the plateau. She followed. Behind her, she heard the large mammal climbing the cliff. She wanted to be gone by the time it could see her. **

* * *

As Kong finished his climb up the cliff, arriving at the top of a plateau, Ann thought she saw one of the two legged dinosaurs scramble away in the distance. However, the view was brief, and she thought that she had probably imagined it.

It was probably nothing more than Skull Island induced paranoia.

* * *

T'maru was relieved to see Kong. The feeling of being watched was gone. Kong was looking intently at the stand of trees on the far corner of the plateau. The great gorilla growled ominously, but then turned and looked at him. He reached out his great hand. T'maru found himself involuntarily dropping the corpse of his friend and stepping back.

Kong gently touched the body of J'halla. Meanwhile, Doc slid down Kong's other arm and onto the ground and walked up to T'maru.

"Any survivors?" Doc asked in Wakandan.

"No," T'maru responded in English. "I don't think so. I just want to bury J'halla and then I'll be ready to move on."

Kong walked away a short distance to the stand of trees, then climbed one of them. They weren't as tall as most of the other trees in the forest, but they were still large enough to support Kong's great weight. Kong pulled off a large leaf, and returned to where T'maru and Doc were standing next to J'halla's body. Kong picked up J'halla's body and gently laid it on the leaf, then wrapped his body in the leaf.

Kong's actions were deliberate and appropriately reverent. T'maru was amazed and touched.

* * *

T'maru nodded at Kong, and Kong nodded back. To Ann, it looked like two kings were acknowledging one another.

Kong then tilted his head back and made a moaning sound that made her very bones shiver.

* * *

Enrst Hoffman was cleaning corrosion off the spark plugs of his tank when he heard the deep, bone vibrating moan, probably from a distance of no more than a kilometer or two. He recognized it immediately, and he felt his bowels start to loosen. He had not heard a sound like that in over a decade, but there was no mistaking what it was, or what had made it. It was a sound from his worst nightmares.

It was a _kong_, one of the giant gorillas that had nearly destroyed New Prussia eleven years ago! Hoffman hastily replaced the spark plugs while holding down the bile coming up his throat.

"Start up the engine!" he yelled to Horst inside the tank.

"It's about time!" Horst replied. The inside of the tank became very hot when it wasn't running. Unfortunately, the high moisture and oxygen content of the atmosphere of Atlantis made thing rust quickly, making the constant care of equipment necessary.

Hoffman jumped into the tank. Horst had probably not heard the moan of the kong, at least not clearly.

The air was still hot and damp and stale, but the air cycling by the coolant coils would soon make the inside of the tank more bearable than the outside.

"Move us around those bushes over there," Hoffman told Horst.

"Why should we do that?" Horst asked.

"_**Just do as I say**_!" yelled Hoffman.

Horst started the tank moving in the direction Hoffman had ordered him to go.

Hoffman moved to the wireless, trying to figure out how to break the news to Kaiser Adolf Dietz of New Prussia that, contrary to previous wisdom, the _kong_ were not yet extinct.

* * *

_**standing beside the plateau, she watched and listened as the tank rolled by. she had not been seen from her hiding place among the fallen leaves, not by the little primates in their tank, nor by the Vastatosaur mated pair that had hastily retreated earlier. **_

_**she listened with her whole body, and she watched with compound eyes. like her tiny cousins blithely going about their business under her feet, she was born knowing what her purposes in life were: protect the colony, inform the colony, feed the colony, and protect her own life as long as it didn't conflict with the other priorities. however, with a body the size of a bull terrier, within the mushroom bodies of the brain that filled her large head she had the ability to consider her actions, and to adjust and respond to novel information. in other words, she had instinct guided by intelligence.**_

_**she listened once again to the moan. she had heard the sound before, or more accurately, she had heard reproductions of the sound produced by her sisters and cousins. but these were reproductions relayed from the far north. **_

_**it was the funeral song of the protectors, a sound that had not been heard in her colony's territory for more than a decade. the muscular spiracles covering her body contracted to expel air while her legs vibrated. she started to try to infrasonically reproduce the large primate's vocalization for her sisters in the colony. each sister hearing the signal would relay the sound further to the north until it reached the colony, and her mother and sisters would all know that a protector had returned to the south. **_

Next

Chapter 12 Christmas Among the Dead


	12. Chapter 12 Christmas Among the Dead 1

**Note: As it turned out, this chapter turned out to be much longer than I anticipated when I outlined it, particularly the heart to heart between T'maru and Ann (and believe it or not, I cut a lot out of it). As a result, this chapter is now divided into two parts. **

**I incorporated a number of personal experiences into the conversation between T'maru and Ann, but I have to say that the experience of writing it was **_**enriched**_** by RebeccaAnn's recent Ann centric fic "A Reason for Distance". If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. **

**My naming of Kaiser Dietz was inspired by the 1975 movie and Edgar Rice Burroughs novel **_**The Land that Time Forgot**_** (A character by the name of Dietz was a major rotter in the movie, a minor rotter in the book). So is the reference to the character of "Mrs. Penhaligon", which was the name of the lead actress in the movie. **

**The name Sitter is inspired by someone else entirely. **

Chapter 12

Christmas Among the Dead-Part 1

Adolf Dietz, the self proclaimed Kaiser of New Prussia, sat in his office (he was a thoroughly modern ruler, and modern rulers had no use for throne rooms) and watched the sun set over his empire. The sun's beautiful russet color was almost certainly enhanced by the steam and soot expelled by the many chimneys that Dietz's window overlooked. Beyond the chimneys, there was an expanse of homes, or more accurately hovels inhabited by thralls. And beyond the hovels was the great wall, built to keep the beasts of Atlantis at bay.

New Prussia was located on the east coast of a peninsula that extended southward from the globe circling continent of Atlantis, on the world Dietz named Freya. Dietz did not pretend to know how he had gotten here, but he knew that "here" was not Earth, and he felt reasonably certain that the peninsula at least explained the legend of Atlantis. After all, to the south and the north were ancient ruins of great civilizations. Dietz could imagine ancients sailing through the mists to Atlantis, and back again, then later attempting to return and finding no mists, and therefore no Atlantis. Those ancients would have simply assumed that Atlantis had sunk beneath the waves.

Now, however, Atlantis was a savage continent, at least until Dietz and his men had successfully carved out a civilization in the wilderness.

Dietz sipped his evening brandy, made from the sweet and tart fruit of the giant green cherry tree. He checked his Swiss manufactured watch, which confirmed that back on his home world in his home city of Berlin, it was just after midnight on Christmas day.

"Merry Christmas to me," Dietz said in German, toasting himself. Then he looked at the other watch on his wrist. This watch had not been manufactured in Switzerland, he had made it himself. It was 27:10, or 9:10 PM on a 36 hour day. The 36 hour day, the resulting 243 day year (with one 244 day year every third year to keep the calendar consistent), the 36 percent oxygen content in the atmosphere, the blue, ocean covered moon, and the nightmarish beasts that walked this continent, all served as proof that this was not Earth, at least not the Earth that he knew (the familiar constellations were a mystery, but Dietz, though brilliant, did not really concern himself with mysteries). Truth to tell, Dietz had no interest in returning to his home world and his old homeland. _Here_ he was _Kaiser_, and he had become Kaiser after surviving and conquering _all_ of the daunting challenges that this world had thrown at him!

After building all of this, why would he _ever_ want to go "home"?

The sun had moved below the horizon now, although the sky above the great wall was still pink. Once, the crowns of trees had been visible beyond that wall, but no more. Beyond that wall, for a distance of at least 10 kilometers, there was nothing but a jagged plain. No enemy could approach his kingdom now without being seen.

Not that any such enemy existed, at least not any more.

Dietz stood up and walked over to the window, carrying his glass of brandy, now more than half emptied. Taking another sip, and luxuriating in the feel of the warmth as it made it's way down to his stomach, he thought about the celebratory duckbill steak dinner waiting for him in his apartment on the east side of the complex.

It was not the goose his family ate for Christmas as a child. Truth to tell it was better.

Also better were the two mistresses waiting to warm his bed this night.

Dietz drank the last of his brandy, and turned to leave his office when there was an insistent knock.

Dietz scowled. Office hours were over. His secretary had retired for the night half an hour before. No one was foolish enough to bother him with routine business after hours, so it was either important, or some fool was playing very fast and loose with his life.

"Who is knocking?" Dietz demanded.

"It is I, your Excellency," a familiar voice said.

Dietz cursed softly to himself. It was Sitter, his chief counsel and in a previous life second mate. He was an annoying bastard, but he never would have dared to bother Dietz with anything trivial at this time of night.

"Enter," Dietz said.

Two men entered. One, smallish with white hair that was once blond, was Sitter. The other, much younger, man towered over him. His skin was bronze and his hair was black and long. His arresting golden eyes with bronze flecks looked at Dietz with affection, just in the way a son should always look at his father.

* * *

After a waiting out a second storm under another giant leaf umbrella provided by Kong, they had traveled perhaps 7 miles south before it started to become dark. Kong picked up Doc, Renny, and T'maru all in turn and placed them on his back next to Ann Darrow. Then, after looking up several trees, he picked the one with the widest trunk and climbed up, and up, and up. Up past the network of thick vines as much as 10 feet wide, up past a virtual arboreal garden of plants growing on plants, up until Kong found a sturdy looking branch high on the canopy. The branch was wide enough so that when Kong took Doc, T'maru, Ann Darrow, and Renny off of his back, there were no concerns about slipping off the branch. All of then could stand comfortably.

The view up above most of the canopy was absolutely breathtaking. Even in the light of the setting sun, the canopy was a riot of color. Brightly colored flowers grew from plants growing from the branches of the trees. Brightly colored parrots (and they _were_ parrots), fluttered from branch to branch. Also there were other winged birds flittering back and forth, some of them also brightly colored. One of them, Doc would have sworn, had a reptilian snout instead of a beak.

There were also small monkeys with round faces that were obviously members of the New World monkey family. They looked at the giant gorilla and humans with expressions of alarmed curiosity. Once, Doc thought he saw a larger, perhaps human sized, primate crashing through the canopy. The creature did not seem to elicit any interest from Kong, who was placing his right hand on his chest over and over again while looking in the direction of the setting sun.

"What's he _doing_?" asked Renny. "He was doing that on the Empire State Building."

"I think…I think_ I_ taught him that," Ann Darrow said. "After he saved me from three of the big meat eating dinosaurs, he took me to a high natural rock tower. I think it was his home. There were bones of _others_ like him up there. Anyway, he watched the sun set, just like he is doing now, and it, it affected me that he _appreciated_ beauty like that. So I did this…"

Ann then touched her open hand to her chest.

"…in front of him and said _beauty_."

"And he _remembered_ that on the Empire State Building when he saw the sun rise," Doc said. "_Remarkable_."

Doc started to trill. Kong gave a sort of alarmed grunt and looked around.

"Doc," both T'maru and Renny said.

Doc stopped. He never did understand where the trilling habit came from. Kong gave him an odd look. Doc shrugged and smiled a little.

Kong _chuckled_, then turned and went back to watching the sunset.

* * *

"The thralls in the foundries are not meeting quota again," Dietz's son, Adolf the Second, said.

Dietz felt a momentary surge of irritation. This was _not_ the sort of news that couldn't have waited until the next day.

"Procedure is standard for cases like this," Dietz said. "Cut their rations in half."

"Begging your pardon, Excellency," Sitter said. "But you already cut rations at the foundry last week as punishment for a slow down in production. I don't believe that you ever restored full rations."

Dietz cursed mentally to himself. It was not like him to forget something like that. Something in his precise engineer's mind recognized that it was little wonder that production quotas were not being met when the thralls were on starvation rations. However, although Dietz could be objective about a great many things, being objective about his own oversights and mistakes was not within his nature. This was especially true when he was in the presence of his son.

"Cut rations in half again," Dietz said to his son. "And execute four more thralls to get the point across to the others."

The younger Dietz smiled broadly, clicked his heels together, bowed to his father, and happily left to cut rations and execute thralls.

Dietz turned to Sitter.

"The next morning, restore full rations at the foundry," Dietz said. "But do so _only after my son has had his entertainment for the night_."

"Yes, Excellency," Sitter said.

"So what business made it necessary for you come to visit me at this late hour, Counselor?" Dietz asked. He had never really warmed up to Sitter, but he still recognized the value of the man's work ethic and attention to detail. Sitter's dedication to New Prussia and its ruler was unquestionable.

"We have a wireless message from Colonel Hoffman, Excellency," Sitter said.

Dietz smiled. He had very few true friends, but Hoffman, his former chief assistant in U170's engine room, was one of them.

"Excellent," Dietz said. "Is he on the wireless now?"

"Yes, Excellency," Sitter said. "He says that he has a discovery to communicate to you, and he says it is most urgent."

His counselor sounded a bit irritated as he spoke. Sitter probably thought that Hoffman should have left the message with him. But Hoffman was like any engineer assigned to a submarine.

Very cautious.

"Take me to the radio room, then," Dietz said.

Sitter nodded slightly and turned sharply on his heel. Dietz followed, and two large guards in turn followed Dietz. They walked out of the office and down the south corridor. At the end of the corridor was a room, and in the room there was a large table covered with wireless machines. In front of each machine was a chair, and in front of most of the machines was an attendant. Sitter pointed to one short blond attendant, little more than a boy actually, probably only slightly older than Dietz's son.

As Dietz walked in, all of the attendants stood up and bowed.

"All the rest of you leave," Sitter said.

The other young men all left hastily.

"You too, boy," Dietz said to the young blond attendant.

He left after bowing again. He was already forgotten by the time Dietz sat at his wireless. Dietz put on the earphones and tapped out a message to his friend, Colonel Ernst Hoffman.

Dietz: _What have you discovered, you old bastard?_

Hoffman: _It is not good, my friend. _

Dietz frowned. Hoffman had been his right hand man ever since they had served together on the submarine U170. Hoffman, a skilled big game hunter and naturalist, had become even more important after they had found themselves marooned in Atlantis on the world of Freya. Since the loss of his wife, the former and formidable Mrs. Penhaligon, Hoffman retired and was exploring the interior of the peninsula with his friend and assistant, Conrad Horst, in search of new game and new specimens.

It was a dangerous hobby, but Hoffman was dangerous man, not inclined to panic.

Dietz: _What is it?_

Hoffman: _I have just heard the funeral cry of a kong._

Dietz stood up so suddenly that the earphones were yanked off of his head. Sitter looked at him curiously. Of course, he had not heard Hoffman's signal.

Dietz sat back down and put on the headphones.

Dietz: _Are you certain of this?_

Hoffman: _Of…yes Excellency_. _Like you, I will never forget that sound as long as I live._

Dietz: _Can you locate the creature and kill it?_

Hoffman: _It will be difficult. There are no signs that the kong lives here, and we are in an old growth forest. The creature will be able to move quickly, especially if he takes to the canopy, which here is high and large enough to support his weight. _

Dietz: _Are there any others with him?_

Hoffman: _I do not know. _

Dietz: _Try to find him. Kill him if you can. If there are others, contact me immediately and return home. _

Hoffman: _Yes Excellency. _

Dietz disengaged from the wireless, took off the headphones, and stood up.

"If I may be so bold to ask, Excellency, what was Colonel Hoffman's message?" Sitter asked.

"Colonel Hoffman believes he heard a kong," Dietz said. "He's quite certain of it, in fact."

Sitter's eyes went wide in terror.

"Oh calm down, you old fool," Dietz scolded. "For all we know, it is a lone straggler and not a threat to us."

"Yes, Excellency," Sitter said.

"Tell no one of this," Dietz ordered. "Let the operators return to their stations. I am to be informed immediately if there is another transmission coming in from Colonel Hoffman."

"Yes Excellency."

* * *

Hoffman slept fitfully until the battery alarm went off. The alarm sounded when the charge in the battery for the electric motors that cycled air in and out of the tank started to fade. Hoffman started the tank's internal combustion engine to recharge the battery. Staying in the tank was a necessity in a land where nightfall saw the coming of carnivorous locusts the size of greyhounds (his late wife called them _Weta rexes_, after some insect from New Zealand, but Hoffman considered them_ locusts_), giant carnivorous crabs, huge spiders, and even larger giant scorpions. Hoffman found the nocturnal arthropod predators to be much more disturbing than the Vastatosaurs, land crocodiles, Venatosaurs, and Loboraptors that stalked the forests during the day.

Dietz was a brilliant engineer. Knowing Kaiser Dietz was like knowing a Tesla or an Edison. Without Dietz's genius in designing machines, chemical compounds, and factories, they never would have survived. It was therefore too bad that Dietz was also a lunatic without a conscience. How else could one describe a man who executed his "best friend's" wife on a trumped up charge of sedition and yet expected the friendship with the "best friend" to continue on as if nothing had changed? Hoffman did not consider himself to be a good man, but he was not soulless monster. He could no longer stand to be around the self proclaimed Kaiser of New Prussia, but he also recognized that the Kaiser was a necessary evil. His inventive genius was the only thing that had kept them from being overwhelmed by the monsters that stalked Atlantis. And among those monsters, none were more terrifying than the _kong_!

So Hoffman left, supposedly to explore the interior of the peninsula and to hunt new game, but actually to stay as far away from the "best friend" who murdered his wife as he could.

Horst stirred slightly in his sleep.

"Go back to sleep, Conrad," Hoffman said as he shut off the engine. The battery was recharged for the at least the next 7 hours. He heard scratching on the top of the tank. It was probably one of the carnivorous locusts looking for a way in. The tank, though, was essentially impenetrable. Hoffman squeezed past Horst to find his own hammock and return to sleep.

* * *

As dusk started to settle in, Kong shooed his four human companions further down the branch, then climbed down and swung away on the vines. He returned with some sort of pine branches, each about the size of a medium sized pine tree on their Earth. Kong bent and broke the branches so that the pieces were connected to one another.

"Look, Doc," Renny said. "He's creating a frame."

Indeed, Kong appeared to be designing a huge nest, a lattice work of bent branches. The bent and broken parts of one branch were hooked onto other bent and broken parts of other branches, so that they were all interconnected. Before the light from the setting sun had completely faded away, Kong had built the frame of what looked like a gigantic bird nest with an overhang.

Kong then again climbed down and away to the vine network. He returned with large leaves identical to the one he wrapped J'halla's body in. These leaves Kong placed around the outside of the nest. It took about three half armfuls of these leaves for Kong to completely cover the lattice framework. By this time, the sky was dark, but to the east the blue moon was rising. It was not quite full this time, but it was still bright and, lower in the sky, the land appeared to be red and the ocean appeared to be purple. The moon's white clouds were pink.

Renny and the others could barely see Kong as he climbed down and away again. This time he returned with branches covered with smaller leaves. These he bent and arranged throughout the interior of the nest. Then Kong came over, a huge dark shadow at this point in time, and held his hand out. T'maru shrugged and went to Kong's hand first. Kong picked him up and put him in the nest. Renny stepped forward next. Kong's huge leathery hand engulfed him. It was amazing how gentle the great ape's grip could be. Renny was amazed at how safe he felt in Kong's huge hand. Kong deposited him into the nest next to T'maru. The leaves that Kong had coated the interior of the nest in felt amazingly soft. Renny pushed down on the leaves and felt the branches underneath give slightly and then bounce back, almost like bedsprings.

"Holy cow," Renny whispered. "This is amazing."

"These are similar to the nests chimpanzees build in my homeland," T'maru said. "But the design is certainly more advanced."

At that moment, Kong deposited Doc in the nest.

"Listen," Doc said to both Renny and T'maru. Renny listened. He heard Kong's breathing, now easy. He also heard buzzing.

"I believe I've seen mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds," Doc said.

Renny nodded.

"I'm guessing the leaves on the outside function as an insect repellant," Renny said. "And the pine branches smell like cedar."

"I agree," T'maru said.

"So do I," Doc said. "And that is a good thing. I think the insects here potentially pose more than a mere annoyance."

Kong then climbed into the nest, Ann Darrow in his right hand. He gently put Miss Darrow in the nest next to Renny, then he climbed back out of the nest and moved behind it to where he had left J'halla's body in the wedge between branch and trunk. Renny couldn't see what he was doing, but T'maru evidently could.

"Remarkable," T'maru said.

"What's he doing?" Renny asked T'maru, but it was Doc who answered.

"Kong has inserted J'halla's body into the back wall of his nest, in between the outer leaves," Doc said. "Perhaps to protect the body from scavengers."

Renny felt bad. He had asked T'maru what the great ape was doing with the body of his friend.

"I'm sorry," Renny said to T'maru. "I really didn't mean to appear callous. I'm really sorry for the loss of your friend."

T'maru turned and, even in the light of the rising moon, Renny could see that he was smiling slightly.

"You're curiosity is _perfectly_ understandable, my friend," T'maru said. "I would expect nothing else from a friend of Doc's. In fact, under other circumstances, J'halla would have been asking the same sort of question. You and he have a lot in common."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to meet him," Renny said.

"I suggest we take watches," Doc said. "Based on the 18 hours of daylight we had, I suspect we will have at least that amount of darkness. I'll take the first watch."

"I'll take second watch," Renny said.

"That leaves me with third watch," T'maru said.

"Don't forget me," Miss Darrow said. "I can take a watch too."

Doc looked as if he was about to argue, but T'maru nodded.

"Very well, Miss Darrow," T'maru said. "You will relieve me for the fourth watch."

"What about him?" Renny asked, pointing towards Kong, who after returning to the nest had reclined back and was already breathing deeply.

"I think he's done enough for us tonight," Ann Darrow said. "Don't you?"

* * *

Doc Savage sometimes described his cousin Patricia as a "stubborn demon", and her stubbornness was on full display in her current conversation with Captain Englehorn and Johnny. Doc had put the archeologist and paleontologist in charge of the landing party in his absence. Doc's assignment of leadership in this case made a great deal of sense. The archeologist could assess the ruins while the paleontologist could assess and identify some of the local wildlife.

"I think he should come with _us_!" Pat said. "_She's_ the whole reason he came along, and you _both_ know it!"

Captain Englehorn looked amused at Johnny's consternation.

"Pat," Johnny said. "Mr. Driscoll's quixotic obsession with Miss Darrow to the contrary, the versifier lacks sufficient preparation for the undertaking of an assignment immersed in an extreme environment as treacherous as that singularly presented by this landscape."

Pat snorted and turned to Englehorn.

"Can you believe this guy?" she asked the Captain of the Venture rhetorically.

Englehorn shook his head and chuckled.

"I can't answer your question one way or the other since I have no idea what he just said," Englehorn said.

Pat rolled her eyes.

"Let me put it this way," Pat said to Englehorn. "How long are the nights here?"

"Eighteen hours," Englehorn said.

"Captain Englehorn," Pat said. "Jimmy Hayes told me that at dusk, Jack Driscoll climbed up the opposite end of a crevasse and went after Ann. Ann told me that Driscoll woke her up just before _dawn_. Am I correct?"

Captain Englehorn smiled, perhaps because _this_ time she called him _Captain _Englehorn instead of simply Englehorn.

"That would be correct," Englehorn said.

"So between dusk and dawn," Pat said as she turned to look at Johnny. "Jack Driscoll crossed the jungle of 'Skull Island' and climbed a big rock tower to rescue Ann from Kong, right?"

Englehorn's smile broadened as he sensed the corner she was painting Johnny into. It was a nice smile, Pat thought. Maybe there was more to the man than being a morose sap after all!

.

"Again, that would be correct," Englehorn said.

"So," Pat said. "_Jack Driscoll_ spent at least 18 hours _alone _in the jungles of 'Skull Island' and survived. Do I have that right?"

Englehorn nodded. Johnny's thin face started to look a little red.

Pat looked at Johnny in triumph.

"Seems like _**pretty**__**sufficient preparation**_ to me," she said.

Johnny sighed to signal his surrender.

"It was my appreciation that _Ham _was the barrister among our company," the archeologist and paleontologist grumbled.

"I have _many_ talents," Pat said. She was thrilled at the prospect of overseeing a romantic reunion between Jack Driscoll and Ann Darrow!

Johnny turned and looked at Englehorn.

"I have no problem with lifting his confinement so that he can accompany you," Englehorn said to Johnny. "And since we got here sooner than we expected, we have _plenty_ of extra stores. You could easily take extra for Mr. Driscoll and Miss Savage."

"Wait a sixty second interval!" Johnny exclaimed. "I'm afraid it would be _inappropriate_ to allow _distaff_ participation in this expedition. It is not my inclination to think that Doc would acquiesce to such an arrangement!"

Pat smiled inwardly as she prepared to win another argument with Johnny. The gaunt giant didn't stand a chance against her, and they both knew it.

* * *

When Ann woke up again in the palm of Kong's hand, the blue moon was now high in the western sky. The rounded crater edge on the coast of the southern continent was no longer visible, and the most prominent feature on the southern continent was now a northern peninsula that looked like the head of a horse. The north sky was dominated by a huge white cloud that looked like a pinwheel.

Ann cautiously climbed out of Kong's open hand and onto the floor of the nest. Doctor Savage and Renny were asleep to either side of her, and T'maru was sitting in front of them looking out into the forest. His sonic spear was cradled in his arms.

"Your watch is not for two hours yet, Miss Darrow," T'maru said.

"I don't feel like I need to go back to sleep any time soon," Ann said. "I don't suppose you would mind some company."

"Not at all, Miss Darrow," T'maru said. "I imagine that you do feel somewhat refreshed. You've been asleep for 10 hours."

Kong stirred, and Ann turned and looked at him. Kong's eyes were opened. Ann pointed at T'maru and Kong grunted softly and closed his eyes again.

"You know, the last time I was here I went to sleep right after the sun set and I didn't wake up until Jack rescued me right before sunrise," Ann said. "I guess that means I slept straight through for 18 hours."

"Well," T'maru said. "Based on what I heard about your account of the previous day, I imagine that you were exhausted."

"_Oh_ yes," Ann said. "But it's now hitting me just what Jack did. He spent _18 hours_ moving through the jungle and climbing Kong's rock tower, which is like climbing the Empire State building. You've seen _some_ of the monsters that live here, I've seen others. It truly is _amazing_ that he stayed alive, and that he kept going for 18 hours, isn't it?"

T'maru nodded.

"Perhaps not so amazing," T'maru said. "When you consider that he is a man in love."

Ann felt tears start to well in her eyes.

"_Why _did all those men come after me?" Ann asked. "Most of them _died_ looking for me. _Jack_ could have died. He almost died _again_ in an ill considered attempt to rescue me when he jumped off the Venture."

T'maru, perhaps sensing that Ann wasn't finished yet, listened in silence.

"People who love me," Ann said. "Bad things happen to them. My family, they're all dead and gone. Most of my friends from vaudeville are living in the street and eating in soup kitchens. I doubt Manny even made it back to Chicago. And Mr. Hayes, Lumpy, most of the men from the Venture who came ashore to rescue me, they are fertilizing the plant life here.

"It's not _safe_ for people to get attached to me."

"It is _not_ you, Ann," T'maru said. "I know it feels like it's you, but it's not. It is simply bad luck. Things happen, some good, some bad. The laws of averages indicate that more good things will happen to some people, more bad things will happen to others."

"Even if that explains what happened to my family, both my original family and my vaudeville family, it doesn't explain what happened to those crewmen from the Venture," Ann objected. "Most of them _died _trying to rescue me!"

"The men from the Venture came ashore to rescue you out of the quite accurate conviction that you are an extraordinary woman," T'maru replied. "Mr. Driscoll loves you, and that love propelled him to extraordinary feats. And you have forged a unique friendship with a most extraordinary being, and you clearly understand him better than any of the rest of us.

"Contrary to what you think, you do not attract tragedy. You simply have lived a life that intersected with tragedy."

Ann looked at T'maru. He was not looking at her, he was looking at something in the distance. Ann turned to look in the direction T'maru was looking and saw a bright red glow on the northern horizon.

"What's that?" Ann asked, suddenly glad for a subject change.

"An erupting volcano," T'maru answered. "I suspect that they are common here."

"Why is that?" Ann asked.

T'maru jerked his head towards the blue moon.

"We can't claim complete accuracy," T'maru said. "But Doc and I were using the hurricane to estimate the size of the moon…"

"The pinwheel cloud is a hurricane?" Ann asked.

"Yes, we believe it is," T'maru said. "Probably quite a large one. Still, the rate of rotation should fall within a range that is similar to the rates of rotations for similar storms on Earth. That rate of rotation in turn allows us to estimate the approximate size of the storm, and therefore the size of the moon."

"How big is it?" Ann asked.

"About the size of Mars," T'maru said. "At that size, the tidal force it exerts on this world is substantially greater than the force our moon exerts on ours."

"I've seen that," Ann said.

"That tidal force would not just be exerted on the oceans, but on the interior of this world, specifically the mantel," T'maru said. "That would explain the broken jigsaw puzzle look of the landscape, with high spires and deep crevasses. It would also result in a lot of volcanism, which would expel a number of gasses into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide. These gases would fuel increased plant growth, and the plants, like the giant trees here, would separate the carbon from the oxygen, increasing the oxygen content of the atmosphere."

"Are we in any danger from the volcano?" Ann asked uneasily.

"I strongly doubt it," T'maru said. "These giant trees have been here for a very long time, probably centuries.

"You do not have to worry about attracting a tragic volcano eruption."

"I…that isn't _funny_, your highness," Ann said. She felt slightly belittled by T'maru's comment, not to mention that he had brought the original subject of their conversation back into play again.

"T'maru," T'maru replied.

"What?" Ann asked.

"That isn't funny, _T'maru_," T'maru said. "You are not my subject. I like friends to call me by my given name.

"And I apologize if I hurt your feelings, Miss Darrow."

"_Ann_," Ann said. "And by the way, I never told you how I sorry I am about what happened to your friends."

T'maru was silent for awhile.

"You said that you are the _last_ of your family," T'maru said.

"Yeah," Ann replied with a bitter chuckle. She tried to visualize their faces and hear echoes of their voices, but it was tough and becoming tougher. "And I wasn't an only child. I wasn't even the _youngest_!"

"I'm very sorry," T'maru said.

"What about _your_ life?" Ann asked. "Have you…has the world been unlucky for those you love? I mean I _know_ what happened to your friends and..."

"Miss Darrow…_Ann_," T'maru said. "I think I may understand your feelings better than you may think, particularly as they relate to the crew of the Venture, to Jack, and even to _him_."

So saying, T'maru pointed to the sleeping Kong.

"Assuming that we all make it back to our world, I will be a king," T'maru said. "I will have literally thousands of people who will be willing to give their lives for me. In my case, it will be more for the nation that I represent than for myself, but I have to live with that knowledge nevertheless. The men who died on that plateau, my _friends_, died as a result of a decision _I_ made to accept Doc's invitation to come here."

"But that's not _your_ fault," Ann protested. "You didn't know that crash was going to happen!"

"Exactly!" T'maru said. "And by the same token, the men from the Venture who died in the search for you did not _plan_ to die for you. Their plan was to _save_ you. They knew it was risky, but they came anyway because they thought that you were _worth_ saving. Kong has stayed with and protected _all_ of us, because he also believes that _you _are worth protecting. I know that you feel responsible for their fates, but you are not."

"You're not making me feel better," Ann said.

"Ann, you wonder whether you were _worth_ the rescue effort, correct?" T'maru asked.

"Of course I do," Ann replied. "I wonder it every hour of every day since we came back."

T'maru shook his head.

"I know what it is to ask that question about yourself," T'maru said. "But the answer is obvious. You _are_ worth the risks that they took to save you, because _they_ were the ones who made the decision, _not you_."

"And twenty years from now, when I am not so pretty?" Ann asked. "Would they have thought that I was worth it then?"

"Your physical attributes are the _least_ unique thing about you, Miss Darrow," T'maru said. "Your kindness, your sensitivity, your humor, _they_ are what make you unique. Yes, your attractiveness secured their attention long enough for them to notice your other attributes, but it is _those_ attributes that motivated those men, your Jack, this ape, to try to rescue you and to protect you. And the fact that so many men made the effort for you answers your question.

"You see, 'Am I worth it?' is the _wrong_ question. You plainly are. The correct question is very different."

Ann looked up at the moon. She realized that T'maru was not so much trying to tell her something as trying to encourage her to figure something out.

And looking at the blue moon, she had an epiphany.

_I'm __**worth**__ rescuing. I'm worth rescuing because that is something that __**others**__ decide, __**not **__me. Others will try to rescue me as long as I __**need**__ rescuing. I can't make people decide __**not**__ to rescue me. But, I can __**stop**__ people from rescuing me…_

…_if __**I am able to rescue myself!**_

Ann looked at the mouthpiece to T'maru's sonic spear in the moonlight. It looked like the mouthpiece to a clarinet. She _played _the clarinet, not expertly, but well enough to incorporate it into her old vaudeville act.

The other spear, the one that belonged to one of T'maru's friends, was lying on the floor of the nest behind them.

"Tell me about how that sonic spear works," Ann said.

"Gladly," T'maru said with a smile.

* * *

"Wake up, Jack!" Denham said.

Driscoll got out of his bunk immediately. He was actually already awake, having not been able to really sleep since Kong took Ann into the interior of the forest. Driscoll now trusted Kong as well as the men with them to look after her, but that trust did not ease the restlessness that had seized him.

"It's high tide," Denham said. "We need your help to lower the Rumbler to shore."

Driscoll nodded and got his shoes and socks on. Then he followed Denham onto the deck. Helstrom was in his usual spot, operating the crane. Other men from both Englehorn's and Savage's crews were holding onto ropes to help steady the vehicle as it was being lowered to the ground, which looked like an ugly metal caterpillar. Driscoll put on the pair of gloves someone handed to him and took a hold of the rope Denham had directed him to. Driscoll felt that he was trying to hold up a boulder. It got a little better when Denham took a hold of the rope too. But, it was very difficult to pace himself as they moved along with the crane in lowering the "Rumbler", as Doc Savage's crew called it.

The pull of weight on the rope was reduced further when a third man took a hold of the rope. Driscoll didn't take the time to turn and look to see who it was. He concentrated on the task at hand.

Then sudden, the weight was gone. The Rumbler was lowered.

"Thanks for the help, Jack!" Denham said, clapping Driscoll on the back.

"Yes, thank you," said another voice. Driscoll turned and saw that the third "man" who had taken the rope was actually a woman, Pat Savage!

"Y…you're welcome!" Driscoll stammered.

"What are _**you**_ doing up here?" a familiar voice demanded. Driscoll's heart sank as he turned to look at Captain Englehorn, who did not seem to be happy to see him.

"I…I'm sorry," Driscoll stammered. He took a deep breath. Then he started to speak again, looking Englehorn straight in the eye. "Carl told me that you needed my help."

"He said that _I_ needed your help?" he asked. "More to the point, he said that I _asked _for your help?"

Driscoll shook his head.

"No he didn't," Driscoll replied. "He said that '_we _needed your help'. I simply assumed that the 'we' included you, Captain. I apologize for my presumption, and I will return to my quarters."

Englehorn shook his head.

"Mr. Driscoll," Englehorn said. "You are not truly a member of this crew. You volunteered to help us. Now, you are welcome to stay on this ship, but I was told that you might prefer to accompany Savage's crew in the search for Miss Darrow instead."

Driscoll found himself staring at Englehorn. He couldn't believe what he just heard!

"Aren't we waiting for Kong here?" Driscoll asked.

"Well yeah," Pat said. "But we figured we'd wait in the Rumbler, maybe try to meet them on the way a little. We figured you might like to come."

Driscoll continued to stare at Englehorn as he replied to Pat.

"I would like that very much, Miss Savage," Driscoll said. "_Thank_ you Captain."

Englehorn smiled at him. Driscoll was not sure he ever recalled seeing the Captain of the Venture smile before.

"Merry Christmas, Jack," Englehorn said.

Next

Christmas Among the Dead-Part 2


	13. Chapter 13 Christmas Among the Dead 2

**In this chapter, I begin to expand on the relationship between Zinj, the Wakanda, and Kong's homeland. Zinj is the creation of Michael Crichton for his novel **_**Congo**_** (BTW, I recommend the novel much more enthusiastically than I recommend the movie). That being said, for the purposes of this story it was necessary for me to make Zinj substantially more ancient than Crichton did. **

**Also, this was originally intended to be the second part of a **_**two part**_** chapter. However, this chapter ran longer than I thought it would, so this will now be a **_**three part**_** chapter. Following the next and final installment of "Christmas Among the Dead" will be two climactic chapters that will greatly change the status quo of this story. **

Chapter 13

Christmas Among the Dead-Part 2

The next morning, Ernst Hoffman took his high powered shotgun (essentially an elephant gun "plus") and climbed up the small plateau. There was a relatively gentle incline up to the west end of the plateau, but this was the end with a stand of trees and therefore it was a potential hiding place for some of Atlantis' most dangerous predators. Vastatosaurs and land crocodiles liked to hide among the trees. Loboraptors liked to hide _in_ the branches. Fortunately, Hoffman saw nothing threatening as he made his way up the incline and through the trees.

He was almost rendered speechless by what he saw there.

Hoffman assumed it had to be some sort of flying ship, but it was like no flying ship that he had ever seen. It was larger than an airplane, but there was no evidence of a zeppelin balloon in the wreckage. Indeed, the aircraft seemed to be mostly intact.

Hoffman approached the airship. It was shaped like a flattened cigar, with no real wings to speak of but the lateral edges were flattened. The front cabin was empty but there was blood on the steering controls and on the seat, which had been torn loose from its moorings and was now lying on its side. The instrument panel with the steering controls appeared to be irreparably damaged, but the instrument panel that would have been to the pilot's right appeared to be intact. Hoffman saw what appeared to be a wireless of some sort, but it was apparently designed for voice rather than radiotelegraph transmission. Back on Earth, when he was an idle youth before the start of the war, he had read about audio transmission when he was visiting his brother in New York. Perhaps someone had discovered a way to boost the signal so that it was practical over long distances. A lot of advances could have taken place on Earth in the 16 years he had been on Freya.

There was a doorway in the back of the cabin. Hoffman stepped through it, and found what appeared to be a passenger area. However, it was badly damaged. Some little feathered pseudo-avians were sniffing and licking at bloodstains, but they were harmless scavengers. There was a tear along the length of the passenger cabin (on the opposite end from the tear in the pilot's cabin). From the way the seats were upended from their bolted down positions, Hoffman figured something large, perhaps a land crocodile, had forced its way in. His theory was confirmed when he knelt down to examine the bottom of the tear. Scales had been torn off and left on the jagged edges of metal.

He pitied the poor bastards who occupied this cabin. Even if they were armed with the kind of weapon he was carrying, they wouldn't have lasted long.

Where there was one land crocodile, there were always others.

Hoffman stepped through the tear in the side of the passenger cabin. There was a peculiar looking metal tube, broken in two, lying on the ground. Hoffman recognized what appeared to be the blade of a spear projecting from a metal shaft. The shaft appeared to be hollow. When Hoffman picked up the shaft, he felt a remarkable metal, lightweight but extremely strong. He suspected that the airship itself was made of a similar metal.

Hoffman picked up the other half of the shaft. It had a mouthpiece like a musical instrument. He really couldn't see into the tube, but it appeared to have a loading bolt on the side.

Dietz needed to know about this. Either there had been some incredible advances on Earth in the time they were gone, or somewhere on Freya there was a very advanced civilization.

Carrying the two halves of the peculiar weapon, Hoffman walked around the downed airship, and straight into the face of a nightmare!

* * *

**Her young and stupid mate was insistent that they return to the plateau. The small mammal that was there just before the arrival of the large mammal was gone, but a new small mammal was now on the plateau. Her mate's excitement upon scenting, hearing, and seeing the new arrival made his entire body tremble. He would soon be unable to resist running out, snapping the small mammal up, and bringing his catch to her. The scents her body was emitting brought out the most paternal of behaviors from her mate. He would hunt for her, and later for her young. **

**The little mammal came back around the whatever-it-was (it had fallen onto the plateau, apparently from the very air itself). Her mate looked to her for permission. She didn't respond, which her mate correctly interpreted to mean that permission was granted. **

**Her mate ran out of the stand of trees. The mammal dropped to a knee. It was carrying a stick of some sort, a stick that seemed familiar in a way that made her uneasy.**

**Then there was a very loud boom, and her mate fell mewling to the ground. Smoke came out of the little mammal's stick. The little mammal stood up. She almost gave up her hiding place to try to rescue her mate, but then she could see that he was already worthless to her. He was unable to even stand! **

**There was another boom, and she knew that she would have to try to provide for her young herself. Unfortunate, because she would be unable to hunt and protect them at the same time. This meant that her entire brood was almost certainly doomed. **

* * *

Hoffman heard movement from the stand of trees by the incline. He was certain that it was the female Vastatosaur. There was a crash, and Hoffman jogged over close, but not too close, to the edge of the plateau. Standing next to the plateau, her head almost clearing the edge, was a larger and clearly older female Vastatosaur. The male he'd shot was quite young, probably her second or third mate. Male Vastatosaurs tended to fight to the death for mating privileges, and the larger and more powerful females would go through several mates in their lifetime.

Seeing that he would not approach within her reach, the giant theropod walked away. She was clearly pregnant, and her maternal instinct in this case made her value her life over the prospect of revenge.

But then for giant reptiles Vastatosaurs were disturbingly smart creatures, _almost_ as bad as the Loboraptors.

Hoffman walked closer to the edge of the plateau, and surveyed the rain forest ground beneath him. Horst and the tank were behind the large tree down and to his left, about 2/3 of a kilometer distant.

He looked down and to his right and saw confirmation of his worst fear.

The track of a kong!

* * *

Johnny could barely contain his excitement. The gaunt archaeologist and paleontologist literally paced around the cabin like a lion in a cage, looking out one small port window, then the next. Monk wanted to take his friend and jam him into his seat, but he was too busy monitoring both the efficiency of his and Doc's new fuel and also the cooling system.

Considering his claustrophobia, it was probably a good thing that Monk had something to do.

Long Tom was piloting the Rumbler, making frequent stops to try to figure out how to deal with the latest challenge posed by the "Skull Island" terrain. Then he would roll over the smallest crack or incline he could find. The ride within the cabin itself was remarkably smooth. Doc, Renny, and Long Tom had designed the cabin so that it was literally suspended within the caterpillar like body of the Rumbler. What this meant is that as the vehicle rolled over irregularities of the landscape, the cabin remained suspended horizontally. There were limits, of course, based on the extent of the grade they were traveling over, but the design did inhibit the cabin from feeling every bump on the terrain.

"Long Tom, I want to stop here!" Johnny said, using short words. Johnny was less inclined to use his long winded vocabulary when he felt that time was precious, particularly _his_ time.

Long Tom stopped the vehicle. Johnny picked up his machine pistol, loaded with mercy bullets, from its spot along the cabin wall. Ham also took his machine pistol from the cabin wall. The lawyer was clad in a clean, probably starched and perfectly fitted safari outfit straight out of a Tarzan movie; a blindingly white shirt and broad brimmed hat over tan slacks tucked into black boots.

"Don't get any dirt on your outfit, shyster," Monk said.

"I'll take that to heart, considering that it's coming from somebody who couldn't keep clean in a bathtub," Ham said.

"Go fall in a mud puddle, you ambulance chaser," Monk retorted.

In reality, Monk hated staying behind in the Rumbler, but with Renny and Doc gone, he was needed to help Long Tom keep the thing running.

* * *

As Ham climbed out of the top hatch of the Rumbler, he pushed his enjoyment of Monk's claustrophobia induced discomfort aside. He scanned the terrain around them with the practiced soldier's eye that belonged to the youngest man to reach the rank of general in the Great War. Carl, Ann Darrow, and Jack Driscoll all talked about being attacked by club and spear wielding natives here. They had killed a member of Carl's crew, and later at least one of them had gotten on the Venture, killed a member of Englehorn's crew, and kidnapped Miss Darrow.

All around them were brick buildings and wooden cages built on top of the brick buildings. The buildings were small and clearly tombs, and the cages all contained skeletons, some still intact, many not. Ham immediately understood where the names "Skull Island" and "City of the Dead" came from. While this was not the way he had planned to spend his Christmas, there was no other place he would have rather been on this day. Ham was a born adventurer.

So was Johnny, who had jumped onto the ground and was walking around.

"The architecture here is extremely similar to the oldest tombs in the Wakanda!" Johnny exclaimed. "I think Doc was right!"

"What was Doc right about?" Ham asked.

"Doc theorized that the ruins here were built by refugees from the lost city of Zinj!" Johnny said.

"Zinj?" Ham asked.

"Yes, Zinj," Johnny said. "Possibly the site of King Solomon's mines!"

"King's Solomon's Mines," Ham said. "Isn't that where Allan Quartermain went?"

"Yes and no," Johnny said. "Haggard's book was a highly romanticized version of Quartermain's trip into the Virunga area, where the Belgian Congo borders on the Wakanda. Actually, rather than looking for the brother of a friend, Quartermain was a diplomatic representative from the British government to the Wakanda. Frankly, I suspect that Quartermain's experiences there were far more fantastic than those reported in the novel. Quartermain and his expedition were the first foreign representatives accepted by the Wakandan government in almost 2,000 years."

"So King Solomon's mines were in the Wakanda?" Ham asked as he continued to scan the area around them for skulking natives and other dangers.

"Nix," Johnny said. "For most of the history of the Wakanda, there were actually several Bantu city states in sub-Saharan Africa. Two of the most powerful in the Virunga region were the Wakanda and the city of Zinj. Zinj exported jewelry and diamonds to much of the ancient world, including I suspect Solomon's Kingdom of Israel. The mines of Zinj were a source of great wealth to the inhabitants of that city."

"I've never heard of this," Ham said. Was that a _man_ creeping between the tombs to his left?

"You wouldn't have," Johnny said. "This is a history only known to the Wakandans."

"So, what happened?" Ham asked. Johnny was clearly excited by these ruins. He was searching for something along the bottoms of the brick tombs.

Johnny didn't answer.

"I'll be superamalgamated!" he exclaimed. "There's an inscription down here!"

That _was_ a man to his left! He had very dark skin, and long, tangled hair. He wore a lion cloth that appeared to be made of the same kind of ratty hair. In his right hand, he held a spear. The man vanished behind a tomb. He was obviously stalking Johnny!

"Johnny, maybe you can ask the guy coming in from behind you and to your left," Ham said.

"Indeed," Johnny said. "Perhaps the three rather hostile appearing specimens of _Homo sapiens_ bearing equipment of lethal purpose and approaching from behind _you _to your left, right, and central backside may also be of assistance."

So saying, Johnny whirled around and fired his machine pistol in three directions behind Ham. The lawyer threw himself so that he laid flat on the top of the Rumbler. The man Ham had been watching ran out to throw his spear at Johnny's turned and narrow back. Ham knocked the man down with a shot from his machine pistol. Another man stood up from behind a tomb and ran away. Ham did not turn around, but continued to scan the area in front of him, looking for more attackers. He trusted Johnny to watch his back, so he continued to watch Johnny's back.

Johnny started to talk again as if they had not been attacked.

"So, what _happened_?" Johnny said. "What happened was that in the 327th year of the Kingdom of the Wakanda, Zinj and the Wakanda went to war. A war that would rage on and off again for almost 2,000 years"

* * *

They did not leave the nest immediately the next morning. Kong climbed away and across the vines to another tree and began to feed. The last time he ate it took about three hours. Doc guessed it would probably take at least that long again. He broke out some of the provisions, and he and his human companions all sat down in the nest to eat. About midway through their meal, Kong returned with a small (to him) handful of blue berries that looked like miniature bunches of grapes. They were good, although not as good as the large, thick skinned green fruit that Kong had brought them the previous day. Kong then climbed off to another tree and began to feed again.

After eating, Doc and the others settled down in Kong's nest and watched the wildlife in the canopy. It was really remarkable. Giant dragonflies caught fluttering birds in midair. The bird life itself was incredibly diverse and colorful. There were recognizable parrots and parulas and even typical looking black crows. There were other birds with reptilian snouts. A bewildering array of primates scampered among the branches. Most of them appeared to be new world monkeys, both callithricids and cebids. There were also primates that appeared to be to be a cross between monkeys and lemurs, but Doc suspected that they were more closely related to ancient North American primates like Notharctus.

One of the smaller monkeys, some sort of tamarin, was snatched off of a branch by a very large and apparently carnivorous red, green, and purple parrot. The monkey screamed as it was carried off higher into the canopy. When the huge parrot landed just out of sight, the scream was cut off.

"Oh, that _poor_ _**thing**_!" Ann Darrow exclaimed.

"Nature red in tooth and claw, Ann," T'maru said.

Apparently, T'amru and Miss Darrow had gotten on a first name basis last night. When he woke up, Doc found T'maru and Miss Darrow going over the design of the sonic spear. Doc wasn't sure he agreed with the idea of Miss Darrow receiving instruction on using a sonic spear, but that was T'maru's decision to make.

"I suppose you're right, T'maru," Ann Darrow said.

They continued to watch the birds and the primates for awhile until suddenly, the birds scattered and the primates began to scream.

"_Now_ what's going on?" Ann Darrow asked.

The next moment, a creature like nothing Doc had ever seen before, or even imagined, burst out into the canopy.

The creature was purple and green. The purple appeared to be feathers, including tufts where one would expect ears to be. The creature, however, did not have wings. It had a long, reptilian tail and a long and narrow snout filled with long and sharp overlapping teeth. Its rear legs ended in clawed feet with one particularly long claw. Doc was reminded of a Velociraptor, but the creature was much larger, perhaps as long as fourteen feet with its tail. The front legs, or arms, were even longer than the rear legs and also ended in long, three fingered clawed hands. One of the fingers opposed the other two like a thumb.

The creature snagged one of the Notharctus like primates in mid leap with a clawed hand and popped it into its needle toothed mouth. Then, as it swallowed its squealing prey, it turned its eyes turned towards Doc and his companions!

"_Uh_ oh, Doc," Renny said quietly.

The creature looked at Doc and his companions before it settled on Miss Darrow and began to leap through the branches towards her. Doc drew his machine pistol with lightning speed, but he wasn't sure if he was going to be fast enough.

The next moment, a huge hand reached out, grabbing the purple and green raptor out of the air just as it was making its final leap for Miss Darrow! The creature emitted a horrible, high pitched scream as it tried to bite Kong's hand, but the huge gorilla turned his hand and slammed the creature head first into trunk of the tree they were on. The tree shook, and blood and bark flew out from the impact site of the tree. The feathered dinosaur, for that was what it was, hung limply in Kong's hand, and the great ape then dropped the creature's corpse onto the vine network below. The vine net caught the dead dinosaur and it hung among the vines.

"Doc," T'maru said. "There are others out there, at _least_ three more."

Doc nodded. He already knew. He heard the screaming of birds and primates all around him in the distance, and he occasionally saw flashes of purple amidst the greenery. Renny had his machine pistol out, and both T'maru and Miss Darrow held sonic spears at the ready. Doc, his own machine pistol in his right hand, watched the canopy.

When the attack came, it came from three directions all at once.

* * *

_Kong had barely acted in time to save the little yellow haired crested ape from the tree hunter ( a creature the late Mrs. Penhaligon/Frau Hoffman named __**Loboraptor**__ 5 years before Velociraptors were discovered and described in Mongolia). Kong knew that the danger had just begun. These tree hunters hunted in packs of at least 4 or 5. They were extremely intelligent and coordinated in their hunting. _

_The purple males would lead the attack. Then the yellow females, half again as large as the males, would follow. Kong braced himself. If this pack had any familiarity with his people, he knew that he would bear the brunt of the first wave. _

_Sure enough, 3 purple males attacked from behind Kong and from each side. All three struck him at once, clawing and biting, and if he had been less solidly muscled, he would have been gutted. Kong tried to reach the hunter clinging to his back, but he couldn't reach him. The hunter to his left veered away from him and turned towards the dark skinned ape. _

_And in the distance, he saw flashes of dirty yellow color between branches in the canopy. Soon, the females would launch their own assault. _

* * *

Ann held the spear tightly in her hands. It wasn't loaded with a steel pellet, but the sonic spear was still a dangerous weapon thanks to the vibranium fragment inside it and the sharp blade on the end of it. She felt a furious helplessness as she watched a roaring Kong try to grab the purple feathered dinosaurs. One was clinging to his back with its clawed forepaws while clawing at him with the large claws on its hind feet. The other two were at Kong's sides, dancing in to kick at him with their hind legs, or even to nip at him with their needle-like teeth.

Suddenly, the closest of the purple feathered dinosaurs turned from Kong and leaped for T'maru.

It was a fatal mistake, because the Prince of the Wakanda was ready for the attack! The steel pellet from the Black Panther's sonic spear tore through the creature's body and the beam of coherent high pitched sound sliced through the creature's long neck. The creature's head and body fell separately onto the floor of Kong's nest, its blood splattering both T'maru and Kong.

Ann turned towards Kong, looking for a shot at one of the other two creatures bedeviling him. But she had yet to even attempt her first shot with the sonic spear, and there _was_ no clean shot! She didn't notice T'maru turn to look at her, his eyes widening in horror. But she did hear him cry out:

"_**Ann**_! _Look_ _**out**_!"

* * *

Doc wasn't sure if he was looking at a second species of arboreal feathered dinosaur, or whether like some birds, males and females had different colored plumages. What he did know is that these dinosaurs were bigger and appeared to be more cautious, although no less agile.

Then, from seemingly out of nowhere, another yellow dinosaur launched itself out from behind a particularly thick cluster of branches from another tree into the nest! It landed in the nest, and then lunged towards Ann Darrow, who was watching Kong battle the two remaining purple dinosaurs. T'maru yelled at her to look out, and with surprising agility Miss Darrow turned, ducked, and swung the blade of the spear at the yellow creature, catching it on the snout and drawing blood! As it reared back in surprise, Doc immediately shot the creature with a sustained burst from his machine pistol. The machine pistol was loaded with mercy bullets, which were hollow gel tipped projectiles containing a fast acting anesthetic. They would knock out a man on contact, but Doc suspected that the dinosaur only found the mercy bullets to be a stinging annoyance. Doc watched as Renny switched the clips in his machine pistol from mercy bullets to a more lethal ordinance. The engineer worked quickly and calmly as the yellow dinosaur staggered back towards him under the withering assault from Doc's machine pistol. Renny then turned to Doc and nodded. Doc stopped firing, and the creature seemed to waver a little as if some of the anesthetic was taking effect after all. But then it turned towards Renny and screamed a horrible high pitched cry as it lunged for the big engineer's throat!

Renny shot it in the face. Teeth, blood, and brains all erupted from the back of its head, and it fell backwards and out of the nest.

* * *

_Kong, sick of the hunter clinging to his back and clawing and biting at him, and now confident that his little ape companions could handle the other surviving male hunter, hurled himself out of the tree, grabbed a thick vine on the way down, and with a quick jerk of his arm, pulled the vine loose from one tree branch so that he swung from the other branch into the trunk of another tree. Kong turned his body so that the tree hunter would take the brunt of the impact. Not surprisingly, the hunter leaped off of Kong's back and grabbed hold of another vine. Kong heard the loud chatter of one of the little apes' weapons and the hunter released the vine and fell limply towards the ground in a crimson mist of blood. Kong, bracing himself for the impact his back would make with the trunk without the benefit of a feathered cushion, closed his eyes. _

_This was going to hurt. _

* * *

Doc found himself wincing in sympathetic pain as Kong slammed into the trunk of the next tree over. Although the tree was even at this height at least 75 feet thick, the entire tree shuddered with Kong's impact. But Kong held onto the vine, shook his head, and climbed up the tree's trunk until he reached the level of the vine network and started to climb across to their tree.

Doc turned and looked into the nest. There was no sign of the last purple dinosaur, or the larger yellow ones that Doc was now reasonably certain were members of the same species, perhaps females to the purple males.

"They turned tail, Doc," Renny said even as his eyes still scanned the branches of the other trees in the canopy. "I think they gave up."

Doc went over to the body of the purple dinosaur lying in the middle of Kong's nest. Behind him, he heard Kong clamber over the side of the nest.

The dinosaur's head was fearsome indeed. The mouth was a two foot long slash in a snout covered with green mottled skin. The teeth were long and almost needle-like, perfect for grasping prey on the fly. The eyes faced forward, providing their owner with stereoscopic vision that would be vital to a creature that made agile leaps through the canopy. Although it was hard to tell for certain under the covering of purple feathers, the creature's cranium appeared to be large, and Doc suspected that the dinosaur was quite intelligent. The forelegs were covered by long, stiff feathers moving front to back. Similar feathers, but only half as long, covered the rear legs. The tail was long and also had long feathers projecting out of it. Doc suspected, incredible though it seemed, that the creatures probably actually _glided_ through the canopy, and that they could control their direction while they were in mid leap.

"I think these things are even _worse_ than the two legged monsters I saw the last time I was here," Ann Darrow said.

* * *

Johnny waited as Monk climbed out of the Rumbler. The ape-like chemist dropped onto the ground and walked over by Ham.

"Makin' friends already, eh, shyster?" Monk asked.

Shaking his head slightly, Johnny willed himself not to listen to Ham's taunting rejoinder. The man Ham shot was lying on his back, breathing fairly deeply. Johnny leaned over. The native's teeth were clearly sharpened into points. Looking at the man's loincloth, he was certain that it was made from human hair, although whether it was his own or someone else's Johnny had no idea. There was a line of purple welts across the man's chest where he was struck by Ham's mercy bullets. When the man woke up, his wounds would sting, but there would not be much else in the way of ill effects.

Johnny looked up. He could see human figures darting around the tombs at a distance of about 150 yards. Having seen the machine pistols in action, they would probably be hesitant about approaching any closer.

"Inquiry as to the functional wellness of the hostile indigenous aggressors?" Johnny asked.

"They're gonna be all right, Johnny," Monk said. "Although they're still out."

"We are being assessed and audited by other indigenous individuals from a secure distance," Johnny pointed out.

"Yeah, the big ape and I noticed them too," said Ham.

"Monk, I implore you to alter your position so that you occupy my current location," Johnny said. "There is an inscription I wish to inspect."

Monk walked over and stood next to Johnny. With Monk taking his position, Johnny felt safe enough to go back and look at the inscription on the bottom of the tomb. It was a small, tiny in fact, relief. The pictures looked somewhat like precursors to the Wakandan alphabet!

"Johnny," Ham said. "Before we were so rudely interrupted by the _baboon_ with _delusions_ of humanity, you were talking about your and Doc's theory that this place was built by refugees from a lost African city."

"Don't you _start_, you ambulance chasing _gigolo_!" Monk growled in his deepest voice, before returning to his usual squeak as he turned towards Johnny. "Go ahead, Johnny."

Johnny continued to look at the inscription. It portrayed, in tiny but shockingly intricate artwork, men leading what appeared to be gorillas by leashes! It was shockingly similar to an inscription that he had seen before on a Wakandan scroll, one that recounted the history of the Wakanda's war with Zinj.

"Actually, there is no longer any question in my mind," Johnny said. "This place _**was**_ built by refugees from the lost city of Zinj. This inscription _proves_ it!"

"OK," Monk said. "I believe you, but what does that _mean_?"

"Zinj is the only civilization in the history of the world to successfully _domesticate_ a great ape," Johnny said. "The ape they domesticated was the gorilla."

"Wait a darn minute!" Ham said in a tone of obvious disbelief. "Johnny, are you telling us that King Kong's ancestors were brought here as _pets_?"

* * *

Kong collected the body of T'maru's friend, J'halla, from the back wall of the nest. Then, he picked up Ann, Doc, Renny, and T'maru each in turn and placed them on his back. Renny felt bad. Kong's back was a bloody mess, and he could see the great ape wince as each of them wrapped their hands in his long and thick hair.

After climbing down the huge tree, Kong took them all off, even Ann Darrow. Doc and T'maru went over to inspect the shattered body of the yellow dinosaur Renny had shot. The corpse of the purple dinosaur Doc had shot was a short distance away.

After a few minutes Kong grunted impatiently as Doc and T'maru, talking in low and excited tones, returned to the group.

"…I agree, Doc, I suspect the yellow ones _are_ females, and the purple ones are males," T'maru said.

"I am curious about the distended abdomen," Doc said. "I suspect that there may be eggs in there."

"It's a pity we don't have time to find out, but our large friend looks anxious for us to leave," T'maru said.

"I wish I could do more to help him," Doc said. "But my medical equipment and medicines are meant for _human sized_ patients."

Kong started to walk through the forest, and the rest followed.

They walked a long time. Kong kept up a fast pace for the humans, although the engineer suspected that it was glacial for the giant gorilla, even though he was walking tripedally as he carried the leaf wrapped body of T'maru's friend in his right hand. They walked non-stop for 3 hours before Kong stopped and they all rested. Renny was probably the most tired of all of them, but even he felt that he could have continued on. Ann Darrow was nothing less than phenomenal, _easily_ keeping up with the men.

"You seem to be in awfully good shape," Renny said to the beautiful young woman as she sat on the ground and took a swig from her canteen.

"It's the practices I had to do," Ann said. "I have to practice for hours on a single pratfall routine, and I used to do about 21 routines a show. On my last job, I was just in a chorus line for a variety show, but I was a late hire and still had to put in extra time to learn the routines.

"Plus, we have more oxygen and less gravity here. _Surely_ you can _feel_ it?"

Renny nodded. He _could_ feel it! Back on the home world, he would have been completely winded by now, given the pace Kong had set and the damp heat. But here he already felt rested after stopping for 10 minutes.

T'maru came over.

"Pardon me, Renny," T'maru said. "I think now is a good time to continue with Miss Darrow's lessons for the sonic spear."

For the next 23 minutes, T'maru and eventually Miss Darrow were blowing the bark off of gigantic tree trunks with high frequency blasts of coherent sound.

"When am I going to get to fire a pellet?" Miss Darrow asked.

"Not until I find something that the pellet won't fly though," T'maru said.

Renny couldn't believe what he heard! He'd seen the sonic spears fired to great effect, but he had a hard time believing that the pellet could fly through tree trunks between 60 and 150 feet thick! However, the engineer noticed that Doc didn't even raise an eyebrow at T'maru's comment, and the Prince of the Wakandas did not seem to be prone to exaggeration or boasting.

Kong eventually stood up and with an impatient grunt started to move through the forest again.

"Time to go," said Doc.

* * *

Ann's feet were starting to hurt within her boots, and she was hot, but other than that she was still feeling fine when Kong stopped suddenly at what appeared to be a break in the forest. Ann and the others stepped forward and found themselves looking off the edge of a cliff. About 400 feet below them was a forest that consisted of much shorter and smaller trees than the ones in the forest behind them. The landscape was also dominated by jagged spires of rock sticking up from among the trees in almost all directions. Some of the smaller mounds and spires were, upon second look, ancient ruins built from great stone bricks.

Ann also saw huge, long necked dinosaurs in majestic herds grazing on tree branches. Birds flew among them, landing on the great beasts' backs.

_**This **_was the "Skull Island" that Ann remembered! She knew that they were getting close to the City of the Dead, the Venture and her crew, and the huge natural stone tower that was Kong's home.

Chapter 14

Christmas Among the Dead-Part 3


	14. Chapter 14 Christmas Among the Dead 3

Chapter 14

Christmas Among the Dead-Part 3

At 09:07 in the morning, Kaiser Adolf Dietz was back in the wireless room. Once again, all of the operators were cleared out. Some of the wireless machines beeped with messages coming in from all corners of New Prussia, but Dietz ignored them. He was deep in conversation with his closest friend, Colonel Ernst Hoffman.

Dietz: _So have you confirmed the presence of a kong?_

Hoffman: _Yes, Excellency. I have found footprints._

Dietz: _How large do you think the kong is?_

Hoffman: _Quite large, Excellency. Definitely a silverback, and large even for a silverback. _

Dietz: _Does he appear to be alone?_

Hoffman: _I think so. There looked to be some human sized tracks, but there were heavy rains yesterday and it is very difficult to tell for certain. _

Dietz: _What direction are the tracks going? _

Hoffman: _South, Excellency. _

Dietz felt a brief coldness settle into his chest. There were wild rumors among some of the primitives that there might be a remnant population of kong to the north, towards the main body of the continent. But if such were the case, why would a kong silverback head to the _south_? Unless there was a hidden population somewhere towards the end of the peninsula, the silverback would find no companionship there.

Hoffman: _Excellency, there is something else, something potentially even more important than the presence of a kong._

More important than a _kong_? Dietz could scarcely imagine what that might be!

Dietz: _What is that, Colonel?_

Hoffman: _I believe that I have found a crashed airship, one unlike any that I have seen before. It has neither wings nor balloon, but it is quite large, bigger than any airplane I have seen, and inside the pilot's cabin I saw evidence of very advanced technology._

Dietz was suddenly very angry at his friend Colonel Hoffman! Why had he wasted time talking about some remnant kong when he had made a find like _this_?

Dietz: _Do you have any idea where the ship came from? Were there any survivors? Do you think that they are connected with the male kong?_

Hoffman: _No to all three questions, Excellency. Perhaps this ship came from Earth, flew through the mist, and wrecked here. I think that the passengers might have survived the crash, but I don't think the pilot could have. As for the passengers, I think they were attacked by a pack of land crocodiles, and the crocodiles probably had their usual followers. I was attacked by a Vastatosaur this morning. _

Dietz: _So you think that everyone who was on board this mystery ship was killed. _

Hoffman: _Yes, Excellency._

Dietz: _Let us hope so. Follow the track of the kong. When you catch up to him, kill him. _

Hoffman: _Yes, Excellency. _

Dietz took off the headset from the wireless he was using. He turned to Counselor Sitter.

"Let the operators in," Dietz said. "The instructions remain the same as before. If Colonel Hoffman transmits a message, I am to be contacted immediately."

A kong _and_ an artifact from a technologically advanced civilization, all in one place? Could such a thing be coincidence? The only advantages Dietz and New Prussia had were their advanced technologies, most of them taken from the blueprints and designs he and his men found in three safes on the RMS Hellenic. However, technology may well have come much further on Earth during the 16 years they had been absent. More disturbing yet, most of Freya was completely unexplored, and somewhere there might be a more advanced civilization, one unknown to him. Either way, interlopers from an advanced civilization were a threat to his rule, one that could not be tolerated.

* * *

Kong took all four of them down the cliff on his back. The wounds on his back were still bleeding, and some of them started to smell of infection. The climb was made somewhat more awkward by Kong's gentle attendance to the body of J'halla. T'maru almost wanted to tell Kong that it was OK, that he didn't need to haul his friend's body with him. But Kong obviously had his own thoughts about the proper care of the dead, and T'maru had a hypothesis concerning the great ape's intentions. Upon reaching the ground, Kong took all four of them off of his back and went into the nearest stand of trees. A couple of times he stood up, and his head cleared the trees. Some of the trees were much smaller versions of those found in the giant forest, others were new species. None of them looked familiar to T'maru.

Kong appeared to find what he was looking for, and started to ingest some specific leaves. As Kong ate the leaves he made a face, as if the leaves were bitter. The behavior if not the plant was very familiar to the Black Panther of the Wakanda.

"He's self medicating," T'maru said to Doc.

Doc looked at him. He did not look surprised, but he looked interested.

"Why do you say that, T'maru?" Doc asked.

"I've seen it both with the mountain gorillas living on our western border, and the chimpanzees living on our eastern border," T'maru answered.

As if to confirm T'maru's hypothesis, Kong then took some of the leaves and pushed them against the wounds on his back. Some of the wounds, however, he could not reach. Doc jogged over and held his hands up. Kong handed Doc some of the leaves and laid himself down on his stomach. Doc climbed on Kong's back and gently placed the leaves on and even in the wounds. He then took some of the left over leaves and put them in a pouch on his belt. Ever the physician and scientist, that was Doc. T'maru could relate.

T'maru turned to Ann Darrow.

"See those rocks over there?" he asked.

"Yes," Ann said.

"Now is the time for you to try to shoot a pellet," T'maru said.

Ann nodded. T'maru was extremely impressed with her attention to his lessons, and even more by the quickness with which she learned. She was even quicker at learning to use the spear than a young Doc Savage. She quickly became accurate at aiming the beams of high frequency coherent sound.

T'maru handed Ann one of the small steel and vibranium balls he was carrying. The pellets were made of the same mixture of vibranium and steel alloys that the shaft was constructed of. This resulted in perfect reflection of the sound, and since the pellet, unlike the shaft, was not anchored to anything, the ball shot out at speeds up to 8 times faster than the speed of sound! The speed of the pellet, however, was directly related to the intensity and quality of the hypersonic note produced by the person blowing into the reed. A skillful shooter could vary the intensity of the note, and therefore the speed and impact of the pellet. This was why he had to find something very solid to shoot the balls into. People new to the sonic spear tended to play it as hard as they could, and Ann Darrow was already producing a note of very high quality and intensity.

"Slide the lever back, and you will be able to load the pellet into the side of the spear," T'maru explained. "Then let it slide back, like this."

Ann followed T'maru's demonstration precisely.

"See that outcrop of basalt there?" T'maru said, pointing to a jagged black outcropping about 200 yards distant. The outcropping was about 30 feet high and 24 feet thick. "Try to fire your pellet into the center of the mass."

Ann nodded and brought the mouthpiece to her lips. She held the spear carefully as it trembled somewhat in her hands. Although the spear was relatively lightweight, it was slightly longer than T'maru was tall, which made it difficult for the relatively diminutive Ann Darrow to hold steady from one end, rather than the middle.

But then Ann exhaled and, with a visible effort on her part, the spear became steady. As soon as it was steady, Ann blew into the reed.

There was an explosion of rock from right in the middle of the outcropping. Ann's eyes went wide in surprise.

T'maru was rendered almost speechless. He had just witnessed the best first attempt with a sonic spear that he had ever seen.

* * *

The great wall, with its huge wooden door, was precisely as Jack Driscoll remembered it. Well, not precisely. Most of the wood in the door was new. Obviously, the natives had been very motivated to repair the damage Kong had caused while chasing him and Ann. Behind him, a stiff wind blew in from the sea, and the great door creaked a little.

The last time he was looking at this door, he was hearing the screams of Ann Darrow from the other side. He was half expecting to hear them again now. This was the wall that the people here had built to keep out the monsters.

Monsters like Kong.

Except that this time, they were here at Kong's invitation, and the last time he had seen the great ape, rather than trying to kill him, the giant gorilla had saved the playwright's life.

"Hey, Jack, don't spend too much time oogling the door. Stay alert."

This comment had come from Pat Savage, who was watching the natives darting in and out from behind the tombs. She held the machine pistol like she knew how to use it. Driscoll had received some instruction in the things, and he was already familiar with firearms from his time in the Army National Guard. He was too young to have fought in the Great War, but he did go through the ROTC program at SUNY.

Johnny came up beside him.

"Mr. Driscoll, you said that you saw quite a few ruins on the other side of this wall?" the archeologist and paleontologist asked. Johnny had soon given up on using his large words with Jack, since the playwright had demonstrated that he had no difficulty understanding what the gaunt giant was saying. Jack had simply and quietly pointed out that word use was his profession. He hadn't even bothered to point out that before he became a successful writer of plays, novels, and most recently movie scripts, he had taught writing at Empire State University, which was one of Johnny's ala maters.

"Yeah," Driscoll replied. "And the ruins were much larger out there than in here."

"Hardly surprising," Johnny said. "I suspect that the heart of the civilization _was_ 'out there'. _This_ was simply the _graveyard_."

"I figured that, but I don't understand how that is possible," Driscoll said. "On the other side of that wall is a jungle full of huge and aggressive animals. How could _anyone_ have built a city out there?"

"An excellent inquiry," Johnny said.

* * *

The trail was difficult to follow. There were several points where Hoffman had to get out of the tank and walk back and forth until he found a kong track.

But eventually all his tracking efforts were rewarded when he found the nest.

Just to the west of New Prussia, some of the huge trees were _still_ home to old kong nests. The nests with their woven tree branch frames and their packed leaf walls often lasted for years. This one, however, was obviously fresh, probably less than a Freyan day old. As always, Hoffman marveled at the intricate design of the nests. There were drainage holes on the bottom and there was an overhang to protect the occupant from rain.

As Hoffman looked at the nest, he smelled the stink of death, but didn't really look around until he felt a painful bite on the back of his hand. A fly about 15 centimeters in length had landed on his hand. He grabbed it, pulled off a wing, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it.

Then he noticed the source of the foul smell; two dead Loboraptors, one male and one female. Both had obviously fallen from the nest, which was troubling. Loboraptors were not rash enough to attack adult kong unless the huge apes were accompanied by potential prey. The prey might be either very young kong or human caregivers to the infant kong.

Hoffman walked very cautiously around the tree containing the nest. It looked like the kong who built it had departed hours ago, but it never hurt to be too careful. Furthermore, the survivors of the Loboraptor pack were still probably close by, perhaps even watching him from the trees. As he walked, Hoffman noticed the body of a third Loboraptor hanging high in the vine net. He took out his binoculars, looked up at the dead dinosaur, and saw that the head was crushed. This kong was formidable indeed to have killed three Loboraptors! In fact, Hoffman could only think of _one_ kong who could…

…but _that_ was impossible!

Hoffman went over to inspect the body of the yellow female, expecting to see another crushed head.

What he saw instead changed everything.

* * *

"But, Father, why did you _increase_ their rations after I cut them?" Adolf Dietz the Second petulantly asked his father, Kaiser Adolf Dietz the First.

Dietz sat at his desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The self proclaimed Kaiser of New Prussia loved his son, but sometimes he simply wanted to strangle the boy. Never mind the fact that, at age fifteen, the son already dwarfed the father. Young Adolf was huge, and looked at least ten years over his actual age.

"You don't seem to understand these things yet," Dietz said to his son. "The thralls maintained their level of production even after their rations were cut. Now that we have made an example of some of them, and punished all of them, the lesson has been learned. Now, as they are fed full meals, their strength will return and their productivity will increase."

"Their productivity is supposed to increase _now_," Adolf the son whined. "Their production figures are almost identical to those of last week."

Dietz rubbed the bridge of his nose harder. His head was starting to hurt.

"To maintain productivity on half rations is to _increase_ their level of production," Dietz said. "Do you not _understand_ this? Have I not _explained_ this to you _several _times before?"

At that moment, there was a soft knock on Dietz's office door.

"Who is it?" demanded both Dietz's in unison.

"It is_ I_, Excellency," Sitter said. "You wanted me to come get you when Colonel Hoffman sent his next wireless message."

"Colonel _Hoffman_?" exclaimed the younger Adolf Dietz. "He was supposed to teach me how to run the tank, but _you_ let him go off hunting after you executed his traitor wife…"

"_What_ are you doing here?" the older Adolf Dietz asked suddenly, pointedly interrupting his son. "Aren't you supposed to be taking your _classes_? _Algebra_, in fact?"

"Frau Nutter is _boring_," Adolf II replied. "You should execute her and find someone else to teach me."

Dietz felt his face turn red.

"Go back to Frau Nutter _immediately_!" Dietz snarled. "If you do not respect my rules, you are _not_ my son!"

The huge, bronze skinned boy's face turned dark with anger. The bronze flecks in the boy's golden eyes seemed to whirl.

"I _am_ your son!" Adolf II proclaimed angrily. "I…"

Dietz cut him off.

"You are currently doing nothing more than wasting my time," Dietz said. "It is best that you remember _who_ the Kaiser of New Prussia is! You are to follow my rules just as everyone else does. The penalty for not following my rules will be harsh for you just as it is for everyone else! Is that _clear_, boy?"

Adolf II's facial expression changed from petulant rage to abject terror.

"I'm _very_ sorry, Father," Adolf II said contritely. "Due to the difficulty of my studies, I have just been under so much strain recently."

_Strain_, thought Dietz bitterly. The boy clearly had no concept of deprivation, limits, or deadlines. Therefore, he had no real concept of _stain_.

"Go to Frau Nutter and _apologize_ to her immediately!" Dietz said to his son. Then the Kaiser of New Prussia turned on his heel and walked out on his stunned son.

As before, Dietz walked the hallway accompanied by Sitter and his two huge bodyguards. He checked his Freya watch. It was now 21:44 in the afternoon. Sitter opened the door to the wireless room and shooed out the operators. Sitter then pointed to the wireless machine that was receiving Colonel Hoffman's message.

Hoffman: _I have found a fresh kong nest. _

Dietz: _Have you found the kong yet? _

Hoffman: _No, Excellency, I have not. But I did find three dead Loboraptors. _

Dietz: _Three dead Loboraptors. This implies a very powerful kong._

Hoffman: _That was what I thought at first, Excellency, and indeed one of the Lobos was obviously killed by the kong, but the other two…_

Dietz sighed as he rubbed his nose. His headache was getting worse, and he hated it when someone attempted to insert a dramatic pause in a wireless message.

Hoffman: _…were shot by automatic weapons. _

Dietz stopped rubbing his nose. He was stunned. It was bad enough that a _kong_ had returned to the lower peninsula, but to think that the beast might have _human_ allies, allies with _advanced weaponry_! Advanced technology, especially weaponry, was what had allowed Dietz and his men to create an empire out of the wilderness and to impose their will on the other inhabitants of this peninsula.

Dietz: _Evidently, some of the passengers of the airship survived. _

Hoffman: _Perhaps. Or perhaps some of their fellows came looking for them, and brought their kong friend with them. _

Dietz would have gladly _shot_ his good friend Ernst Hoffman at that moment if he had been standing in front of him.

Dietz: _Find the kong and his companions and radio back with their location. Enough is enough. We are going to kill the kong and interrogate his human allies. _

Hoffman: _Yes, Excellency. _

After disengaging from the wireless, Dietz looked at Sitter.

"Find Kressler and tell him to fuel the planes and have them ready for takeoff," Dietz said. "I think Colonel Hoffman may need some help on this one."

Sitter nodded and turned to leave.

"One more thing, Counselor," Dietz said.

"Yes, Excellency?" Sitter asked.

"Prepare U170 for departure," Dietz said. "You will take command."

"_Excellency_?" Sitter said, trying and failing to keep the dismay out of his voice. Sitter preferred to stay close to the ruler of New Prussia. He liked the amenities of the Royal Office.

"I need a man who I can trust on this mission," Dietz said. "If a ship of armed intruders has indeed arrived from Earth, I want it and its crew dealt with."

Sitter clicked his heels together and bowed at the waist.

"At once, Excellency."

* * *

After Kong ate the medicinal plants and had his wounds packed with them, the great ape rested for about an hour. When Kong stood up, he seemed to be much improved. The group then walked for another two hours before Kong stopped again.

At first, Ann Darrow didn't recognize where they were. Then she saw the literal carpet of bones, and she remembered. They were at the very _first_ place Kong brought her, the dumping ground where the remains of the previous sacrifices rested!

"Holy Cow!" Renny whispered. "Doc, it looks like a _killing_ ground. Do you think that Kong _killed_ all those girls here?"

Ann looked at Doctor Savage. She remembered Kong waving her above the skeletons, all of which wore the same sort of sacrificial necklace that the natives had put on her. To this day, she still didn't know what Kong would have done to her if she hadn't stabbed him with the necklace.

"Look at what _else_ is in the bone pile, Renny, before making any hasty judgments," Doctor Savage said quietly. Renny crept forward for a closer look at the remains. Ann followed closely on his heels. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to look at, but the big engineer suddenly shook his head in apparent self disgust.

"Of _course,_ Doc!" Renny said. "I should've seen it."

"Mr. Renwick," Ann said. "I'm _still _not sure I see it!"

"Look at the leaf mulch around the bones," Renny said. "Look familiar?"

Ann looked closer for several seconds before suddenly realizing the significance of what she was looking at.

"These are the same leaves as the one that Kong wrapped T'maru's friend in!" Ann exclaimed.

"Precisely," Doctor Savage said. "When Mr. Driscoll told me about the large number of predators here in one breath, and in another breath told me about the bone pile where Kong 'disposed' of his previous 'victims', I knew that an error of perception had probably occurred."

"What do you _mean_, Doctor Savage?" Ann asked. In truth, she had forgotten about the bone pile as she had gotten to know Kong. But the inference that the previous sacrifices had been killed and dumped by Kong still seemed obvious.

"How many skeletons have you seen here, Miss Darrow?" Doctor Savage asked.

"Quite a few, actually," Ann said.

"_Where_?" Doc asked.

"In the city behind the wall," Ann answered. "The place Carl calls the 'City of the Dead'."

Doc nodded.

"And how about out here in the jungle?" Doc asked. "Any skeletal remains?"

"Well, there are the skeletons here and in Kong's cave…" Ann said.

"Kong's cave contained the skeletons of his own kind, correct?" Doc said. "It is high and relatively remote. Here, however, the bodies were obviously wrapped like J'halla's body. I suspect that the leaves discourage scavenging. In a place like this, with so many predators and scavengers, intact bodies would be extraordinarily rare. If the bodies of these women had simply been _dumped_ here, we would see no sign of them except perhaps a stray bone or two from the latest arrivals. Remember how little we found by the Wakandan airship."

"You mean…this _isn't_ a dumping ground, is it?" Ann said.

"Hardly," Doc said. "This is a _burial_ ground. A sacred place where Kong has laid his previous honored dead."

"_Wait_ a minute, Doc," Renny rumbled. "I _get_ the fact that Kong has laid these bodies here as a way to honor the dead, but _look_ at the condition of the bodies. Most of them look like they've been torn apart. _Why do they look like that_?"

"I _know_ why," Ann said. "It's really not so hard to understand. I was attacked by giant bugs, land crocodiles, and giant meat eating dinosaurs the first time I was here. And on _this_ trip, we were attacked by those _feathered _dinosaurs. I bet he _tried _to save each sacrifice, but all it would take is _one_ little mistake, _one_ little lapse, and that would be _it_. Some creature would get her and tear her apart.

"These body parts, _they're_ the only ones Kong could salvage. I mean, you should have seen how hard he fought those three big dinosaurs to save me. I'm _sure_ he fought _just_ as hard for the other sacrifices as well. Think how _awful_ it must have been. His family was already gone, and now the only companions he had were taken from him, over and over, even though he fought so hard to save them."

Ann reached out and briefly touched T'maru's shoulder.

"Kong_ understands_," she said. "He understands the importance of saying goodbye, and of respecting the dead. That's why he brought us here…brought_ J'halla_ here."

And sure enough, as T'maru stood beside him, Kong gently laid J'halla's leaf wrapped body on the pile. Ann's eyes started to sting, and her vision blurred. Just when she thought that she couldn't be more awed by the huge gorilla's sensitivity, Kong surprised her yet again!

* * *

_With the friend of the little dark skinned ape laid to proper rest, it was time to get going again. Night would be falling soon, and while the insects, spiders, crabs, and scorpions did not pose a significant threat to Kong, they would still pose a threat to his little companions. His back felt much better, so Kong took the yellow haired crested ape and put her on his back. The little dark skinned ape now carried both of the silver tube weapons, and Kong had watched as the little yellow haired ape became more proficient with hers. Hopefully, however, he could get them all to the walled colony, and the female's new skill with the weapon would not be tested. _

_Kong started to lead the three little male apes towards the walled colony. However, they didn't get far until they came upon one of the larger ruins. The bronze and dark skinned ape both ran over to it. Kong growled to get their attention, but they continued to chatter to one another excitedly in their sound segmented language. _

_And they were running out of time. _

* * *

"Congratulations, Doc," T'maru said. "Your theory is confirmed."

Doc stopped himself from trilling almost as soon as he started. They were looking at the remains of a wall, quite possibly a palace wall. Most of the building had fallen down hundreds of years before. Doc noticed that there were large chunks of basalt and limestone that did not belong in this location, and yet did not appear to be part of the ruins either. However, the style of architecture was unmistakable to anyone who had attended an archeological dig in the Wakanda.

"This wall, it's built in the same style as the ruins excavated by T'imi, my father, and Harper Littlejohn, correct?" Doc asked T'maru.

"Correct," T'maru answered. "This style was prevalent during the first five hundred years of Wakandan history."

T'maru then walked closer to the wall and bent down on a knee.

"Doc," he said. "There's writing here."

Doc went over to T'maru's side. He heard Kong cough and growl behind him.

The writing of the ancient Wakandans, and therefore also presumably the people of the ancient lost city of Zinj, consisted of drawings that depicted scenes. However, like the ancient Egyptians, the pictures actually also formed the basis of a written language.

At the bottom of the wall was part of a small relief. Part of it depicted a man pointing outwards, and behind him was a giant male gorilla strikingly similar to Kong. Another part of it depicted four men pointing spears at what appeared to be another giant gorilla, but it was difficult to tell because the artwork, and therefore the writing, was cut off.

"Can you read this, T'maru?" Doc asked.

T'maru shook his head.

"I'm not certain," T'maru said. "This is not identical to the ancient language of my ancestors. This sequence must have been written after the language had evolved on its own course.

"Still, what I can understand simply by looking at the pictures is that the people here were apparently allied with the giant gorillas, just as the people of Zinj were allied with their grey gorillas."

Doc pointed to the incomplete second scene on the relief.

"Perhaps the alliance ended," he said.

Kong growled again, this time louder.

"Uhm, Doc, T'maru," Renny said. "I think that Kong is anxious for us to get going again."

* * *

_It was too late. _

_The sun was already almost at the horizon, and the shadows were now very long. The sun would set, and the insects and other large arthropods would soon be out searching for prey. Kong would not be able to make it to the walled colony before that happened. _

_But he could make it home if he left __**now**__. _

_Kong reached over to pick up the little apes and put them next to the yellow haired ape already on his back. _

* * *

The kong's trail ended at the Great Break.

Hoffman stood in front of the tank. Horst kept the engine running. It would soon be night, and Horst would have to stop the tank for the night, and both of them would have to take shelter in it.

The kong obviously climbed down the cliff here, but it was far too vertical for the tank to go down. Further to the east, the slope would be gentler. They would have to take the tank east, then down, then backtrack.

But it would have to be done tomorrow.

* * *

Patricia Savage watched Jack Driscoll with a sympathetic eye. He was obviously disappointed that Kong hadn't brought Ann back yet. Pat was worried, but not too worried. She knew that Doc would protect her, and she was almost certain that Kong would keep his promise.

"It just takes a lot longer to get here on foot, even for Kong, than it took us to get here by ship," Pat said to Driscoll.

Driscoll nodded.

"I know," he said. "But I just _hate_ this. I feel so _helpless_ with Ann out there somewhere!"

"Hey guys," Monk said from behind them. "I think we need everyone in the Rumbler now. The sun's going down, and most of the people lurking around are not giving us friendly looks."

Driscoll nodded.

"They _aren't_ friendly," the playwright said with conviction. "They aren't friendly at _all_."

Next

Chapter 15

The Long Night

**Remember when I said that the **_**next**_** two chapters would be climactic and change the direction of this story? **

**Well, I goofed. I had to divide **_**this**_** chapter in two. The problem is that I have to get several characters to a designated place at a designated time. Logistically, that is turning out to be harder to do that I thought without invoking something magical like teleportation, or making "Skull Island" a.k.a. the Great Peninsula of Atlantis, smaller than I imagine it. So, there will be another chapter to bridge to the first of the "climactic" chapters. This chapter should be quite short, and it will contain the revelation that I originally planned for the end of **_**this**_** chapter. **

**So, to try to make up for this delay a little bit, I give you teasers for the next two chapters after next.**

"**Chapter 16: Airplane Attack!"**

"**Chapter 17: Tragedy!"**


	15. Chapter 15 The Long Night

Chapter 15

The Long Night

The climb up the rock tower was long and even for Kong it seemed somewhat arduous. Early on in the climb, Kong transferred all of his passengers onto his shoulders, so that they were not hanging off of his back. However, all of them still held tightly onto his hair. It was a very long way down.

By the time Kong reached the cavern almost at the top, it was getting quite dark and the sun had already gone down, leaving a pink smudge on the horizon. Flying out of the cavern were truly gigantic bats with 20 foot wingspans.

"Watch out for the big bats," Ann Darrow advised. "Like most things here, they can turn nasty real quick!"

The inside of the cavern was dark, but there was just enough light that all of them could see the huge skeletons of other giant gorillas.

"Kong's _family_," Miss Darrow said in a soft and awed reverence.

Renny nodded. There was one large skeleton propped up against the cavern wall. Most of the other skeletons were lying in a heap in the middle of the cavern. The big engineer then heard and felt a rattling screech coming from one of the huge bats hanging above them.

"So this is where you spent the night with him, huh?" Renny asked Ann Darrow, more to make conversation than anything else.

"Yes, Mr. Renwick," Miss Darrow replied. "Yes it is."

"Call me Renny," Renny said.

"Only if you call me Ann," Ann replied. But Ann knew that she would be calling him Renny even if he persisted in addressing her as "Miss Darrow".

They then emerged from the other side of the cavern. There was an even steeper cliff falling rapidly towards the ocean far below. Because of cloud cover and no giant moon in the sky, it was quite dark out. Still, Renny could still see the pink reflected on the ocean on the horizon. Kong sat and looked at the set sun. To the south was ocean.

It appeared they had come to the end of the peninsula.

* * *

The Rumbler had six hammocks inside of it, presumably one each for Doc Savage and his five aides. Driscoll settled into one. Pat Savage and Long Tom Roberts took the first watch, which involved sitting on top of the Rumbler with machine pistols.

As Driscoll swung back and forth in a hammock much more comfortable than his bunk on the Venture, he listened to the conversation between Johnny, Monk, and Ham.

"So, Johnny, are you going to tell us about Zinj?" Ham asked.

"I actually confided an excessive number of confidences to you already," Johnny said.

"What do you mean, Johnny?" Monk asked. "Hell, we don't have secrets from each other."

"I do," Johnny said sadly. "I just renewed my promise to keep them on the deck of the Venture."

"You mean the blood brother ritual?" Monk asked.

"Indeed," Johnny said. "Earlier today, when I was initially looking at the ruins, I was in an excessively aroused state. Unfortunately, this caused me to speak confidences to you on matters that I should not have."

"Such as the war between the Wakanda and Zinj?" asked Ham.

Johnny was silent for a second before he said very softly:

"Yes."

Much to Driscoll's disappointment, the conversation then ended, and soon he was asleep.

* * *

It was now dark. The sky was overcast and there was no moon. The air was actually cool, and Ann shivered slightly as she smelled rain in the air.

As a result, they were all inside the cavern. She herself was sitting within Kong's open left hand. His deep breathing told her that the great ape was asleep. Overhead, she heard the flapping of immense batwings, but they weren't bothered. Occasionally, Doctor Savage or Renny would turn on a flashlight and shine it upwards or around to illuminate the cavern. Once, Ann found herself gasping when the first thing the beam from Renny's light illuminated was the extremely ugly face of one of the giant bats. The bat squealed in irritation and flew off.

T'maru did not have a flashlight or the Wakandan equivalent. When Ann asked him why he didn't have his own light, the Wakandan Prince laughed gently and said that he could see just fine.

In the distance, there was a flash of lightning, then another, illuminating all of their faces and the cavern.

"Hope there's some rain with that lightning," Renny said. "With the high oxygen content here, I wouldn't want to be caught in or even over a forest fire."

"I'm sure there is," Doctor Savage said. "Furthermore, I suspect many of the trees here have evolved flame retardant sap. Remember what Mr. Hayes said about their difficulties in starting a fire when they stopped to rest on their search for Miss Darrow?"

"They had trouble starting a fire?" Ann asked. "Why did they…?"

There was another flash of lightning, and she saw T'maru shaking his head.

"They had to find driftwood that had obviously been dead and floating around for a long time," Doc replied. "I suspect even the branches that had been dead for awhile still must have been fire resistant."

"That makes sense," T'maru said. "Apparently, _this_ Earth has had a steady, heavily forested and oxygenated system for some time. The giant trees to the north are obviously hundreds of years old. The evolution of fire retardant chemicals in the trees' sap would be a probable consequence of such a long lasting stable system."

There were more flashes of lightning, and the thunder was louder and followed the flashes sooner.

"Storm's moving this way," Renny said. The smell of rain and ozone was definitely stronger. Kong grumbled slightly in his sleep and stirred slightly, but the hand Ann was resting in remained still.

"While we're waiting for the storm, why don't I tell you what Doc and I found at the ruin, and why it is significant," T'maru said.

* * *

Driscoll was shaken awake by Johnny.

"It is our designated interval for sentry responsibility," the seven foot archeologist and paleontologist said.

Driscoll nodded and grabbed his machine pistol. Monk was climbing down the ladder and Ham was right above him.

"Hurry up, you stupid ape," Ham grumbled. "Why can't you climb like you look like you can?"

"Shaddup, shyster," Monk replied as he reached the bottom and stepped away from the ladder. Ham started to climb down. "Why don't you go introduce the natives to the great contributions you have to offer their culture? You know, like personal injury lawsuits and…and…well, personal injury lawsuits."

"Very funny, you stupid anthropoid," Ham said as he reached the bottom of the ladder.

"Oooooh," Monk said. "You substituted anthropoid for ape. I _tremble_ before your clever litigator's turn of phrase. An _anthropoid_! I _never_ would'a thought'a _that_! I surrender to your superior verbal…"

"_Shaddup_, you guys," Pat Savage growled. "Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

"I _deeply _apologize, Patricia," Ham said in a most sincere voice. "I will endeavor to keep the orangutan from further disturbing your sleep with his squealing."

"I said _shut it_, counselor!" Pat snapped.

Monk snickered.

"_You too_, test tube jockey!" Pat snarled.

Both Ham and Monk shut up. So far as Driscoll could tell, Long Tom remained asleep throughout the whole exchange.

"Mr. Driscoll, your presence is requested and most desired!" Johnny said from the top of the Rumbler. Johnny had obviously climbed the ladder during the latest exchange of insults between the lawyer and the chemist. Driscoll slid the machine pistol into the holster on his belt and climbed up the ladder. Outside, the view was spectacular. The sky over the ocean to the west was clear, and the playwright could see the bright ribbon made by the Milky Way. To the east, where the big gate was, the sky was dark and there were flashes of lightning.

"I hope that Ann and the others are OK in that storm," Driscoll said.

"I'm sure that they are," Johnny said. "Your beloved is with an intelligent gorilla of immense power, and three of the most brilliant and resourceful men on the planet. She'll be fine."

"That's what Pat said," Driscoll said.

"She's right," Johnny said. "And she doesn't even know how capable _T'maru_ is."

"Do I understand correctly that you and Doc spent time with T'maru as boys?" Driscoll asked

"We did," Johnny said. "Although there is little information I can freely convey about that time of my life."

During the next flash of lightning, Driscoll noticed that Johnny was scanning the ruins. Driscoll turned and did the same thing. On his previous voyage to this cursed place, he had seen one of the natives club a man's head into jelly. He had no desire to suffer a similar fate.

"You're an archeologist," Driscoll said. "Can you at least tell me about what you've discovered about these ruins? It will help me take my mind off of Ann."

"I truly _doubt_ that," Johnny replied. "But yes. While I need to avoid communicating unnecessary revelations about Wakandan history, I can tell you something about what is known about Zinj, especially those things that have been discussed in local legend outside of the Wakanda."

"What does that have to do with the ruins _here_?" Driscoll asked.

"Everything, as it turns out," Johnny replied

* * *

T'maru took a deep breath. He was about to discuss things that the Wakandans never discussed with outsiders. However, Doc Savage was no longer technically an outsider and Renny and Ann had both proven themselves to be trusted, brave, and true companions.

* * *

"The Wakanda was founded by people who arrived from the north and east," T'maru began. "They were already skilled metallurgists by the time they arrived more than three thousand years ago. Upon their arrival to the land that would become the Wakanda, they found an unusually high occurrence of black phase leopards. Most of the people took the black leopards as a sign that the spirit of the Black Panther was responsible for their good fortune, for the metals that were discovered included deposits of gold, silver, iron, and bronze, and also natural ore alloys, the most spectacular of which was vibranium.

"However, there was another highly unusual animal living in what would become the Wakanda, a gorilla with white hair and black skin. A minority of people embraced the spirit of the White Gorilla as responsible for the people's good fortune. I am ashamed to say that this dispute was not resolved peacefully, and the Wakanda was founded by the victorious side of a religious civil war. The first ruler of the new nation, the first man to have the title of Black Panther, immediately launched a campaign to kill or drive out all who claimed the White Gorilla as their totem."

Ann was fascinated by T'maru's narrative, even if she didn't yet see how it related to the ruins on "Skull Island".

"So the people who claimed the White Gorilla as their totem fled. They found another land with great mineral riches in both diamonds and also metals and natural ores, although no vibranium. There, they founded their own city state, Zinj.

"For centuries, the Wakanda and Zinj ignored one another. Eventually, as my ancestors embraced the ways and methods of science, the Wakanda became more enlightened. The Black Panther became less of a supernatural totem and more of a symbol for an ideal. People even began to accept other symbols, including gorillas, to embody ideals. However, the people of Zinj became ever more obsessed with the White Gorilla as a totem. When they found infant white gorillas, they captured them and attempted to breed them with other captured gorillas. They did not get more white gorillas, but they eventually bred a grey variant. The grey variant was smaller than typical mountain gorillas, and behaviorally different. The grey gorillas were more tractable and trainable, and at the same time the males were more accepting of one another, less competitive.

"In many ways, the grey gorillas resemble immature mountain gorillas who never reach adulthood. The males, for example, never develop a sagittal crest to the extent that typical gorillas do. There were some rumors that the people of Zinj crossbred their gorillas with chimpanzees or even men, but we have no reason to believe that this was true."

You sound like you've seen them," Renny said.

"I _have _seen them," T'maru said. Then he continued:

"Meanwhile, another difference developed between the people of Zinj and the people of the Wakanda. The Wakandans turned inward, using their scientific advances and their mineral riches to improve their own lives. On the other hand, the people of Zinj became very wealthy by turning their attentions outward, trading diamonds and other minerals to the kingdom of Kush to the north, and through them with the entirety of the ancient world."

"Like Israel and King Solomon's mines," Renny rumbled.

"Like India and China," T'maru replied. "Eventually, the people of Zinj became very wealthy through their trade, and like wealthy cultures everywhere, there was soon a shortage of people willing to do the dirty and dangerous work of mining. At first, some of the people of Zinj attempted to train their grey gorillas to mine, but that didn't work out. The gorillas did not have a taste for it. So they turned their attention outward. They developed a strong and aggressive military and started raiding neighboring villages and city states for slaves. They also trained their grey gorillas to be potent weapons of war, and to guard their mines. Zinj became a horrible place, and people around the region appealed to the one nation that could stand against them."

"The _Wakanda_," Ann said.

"Yes," T'maru replied. "In a sense, we had _created_ this monster, and now we needed to _stop_ it. Thus began a long and protracted war that lasted over two generations. Eventually, the war ended in a stalemate. The armies of Zinj were defeated. But, with their grey gorillas, the rulers of Zinj were still able to protect their city and mines.

"Most of the remaining Zinj army were cut off from their rulers and their city, and so they fled westward with their families _and_ their gorillas. What happened to them is unknown, although there were stories of African refugees and 'their simian menagerie' arriving in Phoenician colonies on the coast of West Africa. Doc's theory, supported by the architecture of the ruins here, and the relief we found on the wall, is that the refugees from Zinj either hired or hijacked Phoenician ships and sailed westward. Some of them apparently came through the mists and arrived here."

"And their grey gorillas carried with them the heritage of their mountain gorilla ancestors, including the gigantism that occurs in and around the Wakanda," Doc said. "On Earth, the gigantism is fatal, but here, it was an asset. The giant gorillas had both the strength and the intelligence to survive against the native predators."

"And Kong is the last of them," Ann said. Now that she had something of an understanding of the background of Kong's species, she felt sadder than ever at the thought that he might be the last of his kind.

"I sincerely hope not," Doc replied.

* * *

"So you're telling me that these people in Zinj _domesticated_ gorillas and brought them _here_ with them?" Driscoll asked. Even with everything he had seen here, he had a hard time believing _this_ story.

"That seems to be the most likely hypothesis," Johnny said. The storm to the east had moved on and now the blue moon was up in the sky, except that this time most of the moon was covered in white clouds, and only patches of blue showed through the clouds. The moon wasn't quite full, and as Driscoll looked at it there was a flash of light from the dark patch.

"Did you see that?" Driscoll asked the archeologist/paleontologist.

"See what?" Johnny asked.

"There was a flash of light from the dark patch of the moon…wait…there's another one!" Driscoll exclaimed.

"Interesting!" Johnny said even as he continued to scan the tombs around them. With the rising of the blue moon, the landscape was now much easier to see. "It's probably lightning."

"That's what it looks like," Driscoll agreed. "So, how do you think the gorillas got so big after they got here?"

"Giants are occasionally born among the mountain gorillas in the area where Zinj is said to have been located," Johnny said. "They don't ever make it to adulthood, their own size kills them before they're fully grown. But _here_, where the oxygen content is higher and the gravity is lower, giant gorillas could thrive."

"And the grey gorillas?" Driscoll asked.

"They were bred from the local mountain gorillas," Johnny said.

At that moment, the hatch opened and Pat Savage climbed out.

"Time's up, fellas," Pat said. "It's time for Long Tom's and my second shift."

* * *

On the Venture, Carl Denham moved out of the cabin he had shared with Jack Driscoll and into the crew quarters. He wasn't sure if he would be welcomed, but he saw welcoming smiles when he went down and selected an empty bunk.

Well actually, _Helstrom _didn't smile, but he was standing _behind _the erstwhile movie director and producer. Thus, Denham didn't see Helstrom's angry scowl.

* * *

Driscoll didn't even realize he had gone back to sleep when he awoke to a loud racket. It took him a moment to realize that he was hearing the sound of machine pistol fire.

"Got 'im!" yelled Patricia Savage.

"There's another one behind you!" yelled Long Tom. There was another burst of fire, and then suddenly a man dropped through the hatch. He was tall and muscular and clad in the hair lion cloth Driscoll remembered from his last encounter with the natives. The man staggered to his feet holding his head as Long Tom Roberts dropped to the floor next to him. Long Tom landed on his feet like a cat. Driscoll was amazed. The sickly looking electrical engineer looked like he should be barely be able stand and breath at the same time, but the man moved with the fluidity of a great cat. Long Tom kicked the native warrior in the gut. Then he clamped some sort of weird finger hold on the man's temple. The native warrior swiftly collapsed to his knees, then lost consciousness and fell face first to the floor of the Rumbler.

"There's your captive, Johnny," Long Tom said. "You were right. They thought Pat and I would be the weak link."

"Hey!" Pat yelled from the roof of the Rumbler. "Get _off_ me, you big creep!"

Monk, looking like the simian Ham accused him of being, leaped onto the ladder and scrambled to and through the hatch. Perhaps two seconds later, there was a pained howl and the ape-like chemist slid down the ladder with a peculiar look on his face.

"Is Pat all _right_?" Long Tom asked, his voice expressing a concern that Driscoll would not have expected from the normally sour looking engineer.

"_Oh_ yeah," Monk said. "_She's_ alright, but the guy who grabbed her is gonna be singin'_ soprano_ for a _year_."

Every man in the Rumbler winced in sympathetic pain.

"Some weak link," muttered Ham.

* * *

Fourteen hours after climbing in his hammock, Hoffman awoke to the sound of the wireless. This night, it had been Horst's turn to run the engine to cycle air through the cooling system, so Hoffman woke up relatively refreshed.

Hoffman put on the headphones. It was Kaiser Dietz.

Dietz: _Have you found the kong yet?"_

Hoffman: _No, Excellency. The kong's trail ended at the Great Break. I assume he climbed down. I am having Horst take the tank to the east until we reach the gentler slope. I believe we will be able to pick up the kong's trail by midday._

Dietz: _It may be sooner than that, Colonel. I am sending Kressler and his pilots to help you. They may be able to locate the kong from the air and shoot him from a distance. If after you have gone down the slope, you see planes circling, follow them and offer what assistance you can. _

Hoffman: _Yes,_ _Excellency. _

Hoffman was fuming as he disengaged from the wireless. The kong were the most difficult and dangerous prey in Atlantis, and Hoffman was looking forward to matching wits with one of them again. They were all huge, extremely powerful, and intelligent. In addition, some of them had tactical minds that would make a Field Marshal envious. 

He, _Hoffman_, was the supreme hunter of kong in New Prussia! _Kressler_, on the other hand, was an able enough pilot, but he had _no_ sense of gallantry! He and his fellow pilots would find the kong and shoot him like a fish in a barrel.

And they wouldn't think twice about it.

For some reason, that made Hoffman feel rather sad.

* * *

Ann and Kong watched the sun rise. The huge bats flew back into their roost, but didn't bother either one of them.

"Holy Cow!" bellowed Renny. "Doc, what are you doing in there?"

Ann climbed out of Kong's hand and went into the cavern. She was horrified to find Doctor Savage walking out from under the rib cage of one of the giant gorilla skeletons. Behind her, she heard Kong walk up behind her and make an angry, snorting sound.

Doctor Savage nodded to Kong grimly. Then he held out his closed hand to Renny.

"Renny," he said. "Take a look at _these_."

So saying, Doctor Savage opened his hand and several metallic objects dropped into Renny's huge palm. Even from a distance, with the dim light of dawn shining in the cavern, Ann could tell that the objects were bullets.

"Oh my God," whispered Ann.

Renny did not yell "Holy Cow!" again. He did not do anything but look at the bullets in his hand. His face turned dark, and his expression was angry.

"Do these look familiar?" Doctor Savage asked.

"Yeah," Renny said. "They look familiar alright. These are _Jerry_ bullets!"

"'_Jerry_'?" T'maru asked Ann.

"German," Ann said grimly. "He means they are German bullets."

She turned to look at Doctor Savage.

"That's what happened to Kong's _family_, isn't it?" Ann asked. "They were all _shot_."

Doctor Savage nodded.

"Yes," Doctor Savage answered. "These are high caliber machine gun bullets. They're of the kind usually fired from a mounted gun, either on a tank or an airplane.

"Someone was _hunting _them."

* * *

_Kong was initially very angry at the little bronze ape for climbing among the bones of his youngest female. But then he saw the metal objects he was holding and showing to the little dark haired ape, and Kong realized that they had discovered the way his four mates and their children, __**his**__ children, had died. _

_It was almost as if he could hear the engines of their accursed flying machines in the distance. _

_Then he realized that he __**wasn't**__ imagining the sounds of the engines. Aircraft __**were**__ coming, and they were coming this way! _

Next

Chapter 16

Airplane Attack!


	16. Chapter 16 Airplane Attack!

Chapter 16

Airplane Attack!

Twenty two minutes before sunrise, on a field west of the city and kingdom of New Prussia, Kressler and his pilots climbed into the cockpits of their airplanes. The planes were Dietz's invention. They were smaller than the Fokker Tri-Planes Kressler remembered, and they were a dull metallic grey rather than bright red, but they maneuvered well, and the guns fired with perfect timing.

Kressler was the only pilot among them to have flown before their arrival on Freya. It had been his intention to fly in the Great War, but his father was a high ranking officer in the Kaiser's Navy, and he wanted his eldest son to follow in his footsteps. Kressler had a feeling of grim satisfaction whenever he thought about his father mourning his "lost-at-sea" son.

Kressler was leading a squadron of six planes. They were to look for some stray kong who had wandered to the southern tip of the peninsula. He'd killed some kong down there before, and he thought that he would start by looking in the same region again. Perhaps some old kong had come down to mourn his fallen comrades.

By the light of the almost full moon, brighter than usual because it was almost completely covered in white clouds, Kressler and his fellow pilots took off, and flew south.

* * *

While Kong was still asleep, Doc got up and crept deeper into the cavern, to where the skeletons of the great ape's family lay. When he had shined his flashlight around earlier, he'd seen reflections that looked metallic. Carefully, he ducked under the ribcage of one of the fresher looking skeletons, a female that, while a great deal smaller than Kong, was still at least 15 feet in length. He shined his flashlight on the cavern floor, among the dried remains of the leaves, and found a metallic reflection. He picked it up. It was unquestionably a bullet, all too similar in design to those he pulled out of human bodies during the Great War. It was high caliber, probably shot from the top of a tank or an airplane.

Doc felt a quiet rage build inside him, one that alarmed him in its intensity.

Another mystery was solved.

Kong's hostile reaction to the armed landing party from the Venture now made sense. The great ape was already very familiar with guns, and had no reason to trust those who wielded them.

* * *

Laloog was very angry, and even more frightened.

The interlopers and their giant ship had returned, this time traveling in a metal machine-animal. Twice, she had sent men to kill them. Twice, they had failed, and now one of them was captured.

"Their magic is strong," the young men wailed. "The last time they were here, they defeated the Kong, our Great Protector! How can we possibly stand against them?"

"They are simply _men_, like any other!" Laloog yelled back at them. They were acting like the most foolish of children! "Did they not _die_ when you struck them before? Our ancestors once thought that _they_ could capture and rule over the Great Kong! They were proven wrong, and so these other men will be proven wrong as well. After the Great Kong destroys the intruders for their foolishness, he _will _return, and he will seek _vengeance_ on us for our failure to deal with them ourselves!"

Laloog was as absolutely certain of the truth of her words as she was of the truth of the old tales. Tales of how the Great Kong and men once lived and worked together, until men presumed too much, and attempted to enslave the Great Protector. In retaliation, Kong destroyed the cities of men, ironically leaving them only the land of the dead to live in. But Kong was then merciful. He _protected _the last place inhabited by men. But as the Protector of Men, the Great Kong expected a price. The price was that the young daughters of men should be his brides. And so they were, for generation after generation.

She could feel it, the Great Kong would return soon. And when he did, and found the intruders here, his wrath would consume them _all_!

* * *

A low lying mist shrouded the lower halves of the tombs. Johnny, followed by a machine pistol carrying Jack Driscoll, moved from tomb to tomb.

"Fascinating," Johnny muttered as he looked at one tomb, then another. "Extraordinary! Remarkable! Utterly and prodigiously incredible!"

Johnny turned to look at Jack Driscoll.

"I am afraid that I owe your friend Mr. Denham an _abject apology_," Johnny said. "I actually _do_ love this place!"

The tombs told a story. The oldest tombs were built closest to the sea. The pictograph writings on the tomb were very similar to the writings on the tombs in ancient Wakanda. They depicted men training relatively small gorillas. The men and their gorillas were chasing small dinosaurs and fighting against larger dinosaurs, including some terrifying looking therapods and an even more disturbing looking long armed creature that seemed to come out of the trees.

As they moved inland, the tombs became more elaborate and advanced, and the pictograph writing became more abstract and harder for Johnny to read. Still, the pictures were representative enough that the archeologist and paleontologist could tell that the gorillas had become giants like Kong. The men and the giant gorillas still seemed to be allies, but the relationship appeared to be different. Whereas previously the humans were clearly dominant, now the gorillas and the humans seemed to be partners. The pictures even appeared to depict conversations between the humans and the huge gorillas.

But it was the relief on the tomb he was currently looking at that was most intriguing. It depicted human women tending to tiny gorilla infants, handing them to their gigantic mothers.

"What is going on there?" Driscoll said as he looked at the relief.

"You asked me how the people here managed to build a city on the other side of that wall where the monsters roam, and now we have an answer," Johnny replied. "They didn't do it alone. The relationship between the humans and the gorillas became truly symbiotic. The humans needed the giant gorillas, with their great size, strength, and increased intelligence, to protect them from the carnivorous dinosaurs. However, the gorillas needed the assistance of humans to care for their newborn infants, who were too small for the giant mothers to care for themselves."

"But somehow the partnership seems to have ended," Driscoll said.

"Indeed," Johnny replied. "Something seemed to happen to these people to change them into degenerate savages. Some sort of tragedy."

"They were giving women to Kong in an obsolete ritual!" Driscoll said. "Poor _fellow_! The big ape probably had no idea why they were giving him their young women. No _wonder_ he was so confused and angry! Everyone was confused, acting out a forgotten ritual."

"We don't know that," Johnny replied. "I think it would be a grave mistake for us to underestimate just what Kong knows and understands. For that matter, I would be cautious about underestimating the natives as well. They are the descendents of a brilliant and advanced people."

At that moment, Monk walked up to them.

"Hey, Johnny," the ape-like chemist said. "Our prisoner is finally waking up."

"Excellent!" Johnny replied. "Let's see if we can learn something from our unwilling guest!"

* * *

Doc was now moving from skeleton to skeleton, looking for more bullets. Kong didn't seem to mind. In fact, he no longer seemed to be paying any attention at all. The great ape trotted from one end of the cavern to the other. He seemed to be on the lookout for something, and he seemed to be a little agitated.

"I think Kong's family has been bringing bodies up here for generations," Doc said. "Only the _newest_ skeletons have bullets resting among them. And all of those skeletons seem to be females and infants. However, some of the older skeletons here are of adult males."

"So the Germans _slaughtered_ his family," Ann said in a cold voice that chilled Renny's blood. The beautiful blond was holding one of the Wakandan sonic spears in her right hand, and she looked anxious to use it.

Suddenly, Kong roared. It wasn't particularly loud, and the emotion the sound conveyed to Renny was concern, perhaps even fear. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Kong scooped up T'maru from his place on the ledge overlooking the ocean. Then he gently herded Renny and Ann Darrow away from the cavern entrance overlooking the jungle to the north.

"What's up with _him_?" Renny asked.

"Shhh, wait!" T'maru said. "Doc, do you hear that?"

"Hear what, T'maru?" Doc asked. "Wait…_yes_, _now_ I hear them."

"Hear what?" Renny asked.

"Airplanes," said Doc.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Ann Darrow cried. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but there was nothing distraught about Ann's expression. Her face had an expression of anger so cold that it made her tears look like melting ice sickles. "_Now_ they're coming to finish him off, after _slaughtering_ his family?? _This frosts the __**stinking **__cake_!"

Kong went over to a ledge and fingered something that Renny had not noticed before. It looked like a net woven out of vines.

Had _Kong_ made that? Given the thickness of the vines, the big engineer couldn't imagine who else could have made the vine net.

"Hey, Doc," Renny said. "I think Kong _made_ something here. It looks kinda like a net."

"I'm sure it's fascinating, Renny," Doc said. Doc's tone of voice indicated that he was sincere, not patronizing. "We'll take a look at it after we've dealt with these planes, one way or another."

Kong made what sounded like another short roar of alarm. Doc had his binoculars out and was looking south over the ocean.

"I _see_ them," Doc said. "_Three_ of them. From a distance, they look like Fokker Tri-Planes."

Kong left his "net" and tried to nudge Doc away from the ledge, but Doc held up both of his open hands in a placating gesture.

"It's _OK_, big fella," Doc said. "I'll be careful, but I think it is best to determine what the intentions of the pilots are."

"We _know_ what the intentions of the damn pilots are!" Ann snarled. "You just gave Renny a _handful_ of those intentions!"

"Miss Darrow…" Renny began as Ann spun to look at him, her bright blue eyes now flashing fire. "Sorry, _Ann_…these bullets are at least ten years old. We don't know for sure that these are the same people who…"

"Oh, I'm certain that 'Skull Island' is just _full _of airplanes!" Ann said with a scornful laugh. "Who _else_ could they be, Renny? I'm no war expert, but I _remember_ which side flew _Fokker Tri-Planes_!"

"I said they _looked_ like Fokker Tri-Planes, Miss Darrow," Doc said. "But actually, the British were the first to build tri-planes."

"But you said that the bullets were German," Ann said.

"So they appear to be but…"

"_Doc_."

T'maru jogged in from the north cavern entrance. Renny hadn't seen or heard him leave, and based on Kong's startled expression, neither had the big gorilla.

"I count three more planes coming from the north," T'maru said.

* * *

Johnny's attempt to interview the native prisoner wasn't going anywhere, not that Long Tom expected things to go differently. Johnny might know some ancient African languages but these fellows had had thousands of years to develop their own language.

But it wasn't just that. The prisoner was disdainful of his captors at best, if not outright hostile. Indeed, the first thing he tried to do was to lunge forward and bite Johnny with his filed teeth. However, even in the cramped quarters of the cabin, Johnny easily stepped out of the way of the bound passenger. The grace of the awkward looking giant beanpole was amazing to behold. With his left arm, Johnny intercepted Pat Savage, who was about to clobber the native for his hostility.

"It's unobjectionable, Pat," Johnny said with the slightest hint of strain in his voice from holding the bronze spitfire back. "Preventing injury from dental aggression is within the scope of my abilities."

Pat snorted.

"Yeah, well if you're wrong and he takes a chunk outta you, I'll take a _bigger_ chunk outta _him_!" Pat growled. "See if you can explain _that_ to him!"

Johnny tried to talk to the native for the next 20 minutes, with no luck. Finally, the gaunt archeologist shrugged.

"Let's relinquish his bonds once we have him safely removed from the conveyance," Johnny said. "My efforts to be educated by this gentleman have been ineffective."

Monk slung the man over his shoulder. The native looked embarrassed and terrified. Long Tom followed the chemist up the ladder to make certain the native didn't give him any trouble. However, the expression on the native's face made it clear that the last thing he wanted to do was give Monk Mayfair trouble.

Monk set the bound man on his feet just a little ways from his friend Ham, who was sitting on the Rumbler with a cane in his right hand, and a machine pistol in his left.

"Cut 'im _loose,_ shyster," Monk said. "Johnny don't need him anymore."

Without a word, Ham took the sword out of his cane and cut through the man's bonds with one slice. The native immediately leaped off of the Rumbler and ran away.

"I'm not responding to your _mangling _of the English language any longer, you stupid ape," Ham said to Monk airily.

"You just did," Monk said. "Just like an ambulance chaser, can't keep his mouth shut."

Without quite knowing why, Long Tom found himself angrily shushing his squabbling friends. Then, as the two became silent, he heard them.

"I think I'm _imagining _things, fellows," Long Tom said. "Are _you_ hearing them?"

"Yeah," Monk said, rumbling rather than squeaking. "I hear _airplanes_. What the _devil_…?"

* * *

Laloog brushed her scraggly white hair away from her eyes. Her left eye really didn't see anymore, but she could still see with her right eye, and there was nothing wrong with her hearing.

"Do you hear them?" Laloog cried to her people. "Do you hear the flying machine-animals? Can you have any more doubt?? The flying machine-animals have come to battle the Great Kong! Why?

"_**Because the Protector has returned**_!!"

* * *

The pilots were confused. Kressler saw them all, one by one, fly forward in formation and turn and look at him with quizzical expressions. Kressler chuckled to himself. Of course they didn't understand. They didn't know. _No_ one knew, not even Hoffman the great kong hunter or the Kaiser himself. None of them knew of the flight Kressler took down here ten years ago, or of the kong family he found; the silverback, his four females and five children who were all living in the shadow of the natural stone tower. He'd gotten them all, although the silverback turned out to be very hard to kill.

No one thought that any kong lived south of the Great Break, where the trees were smaller. Kressler was the only one who had ever known differently. And now he guessed that some lone silverback, probably the last of his kind, was wandering the peninsula in a vain search for other survivors, and after looking everywhere else finally came here as a last resort. In the absence of the giant trees, only high cliffs would do for a kong, and the rock tower almost at the tip of the peninsula provided the highest nesting place of all.

So, as the first light of dawn colored the sky to the east, Kressler motioned to three of his pilots to circle the rock tower to the north. He then used hand signals to direct the other two pilots to accompany him southeast over the ocean, and then return in a wide circle back to the end of the peninsula. As he approached the peninsula, he saw the rock tower and a tiny black dot that moved near its summit. Then the black dot vanished into a cave mouth high on the face of the rock tower. From that distance, there was only one thing the black dot could be. Kressler took out a mirror to signal the planes to the north that the kong had been found.

It was time to extinguish the species once and for all.

* * *

Doc carefully adjusted his holster for the machine pistol so that it was on the back of his belt.

"No mercy bullets this time, Renny," he said to the big engineer. "They won't have any effect on the planes and if we hit a pilot, the results will prove just as fatal as it would be if we used actual bullets."

"Right, Doc," Renny replied.

"What are you doing, Doctor Savage?" Ann Darrow asked.

"I am giving the pilots of those planes the opportunity to signal that their intentions are not universally hostile," Doc answered.

"That's _suicide_!" Ann Darrow exclaimed.

"_He'll_ be all right, Ann," T'maru said. "Doc will be prepared for any treachery."

Doc was surprised by the change in Miss Darrow. The beautiful former vaudevillian had amply demonstrated her devotion to Kong, but Doc was unprepared for the intensity of her outrage when he discovered the bullets. There was little doubt in his mind that these airplanes had come from the same source as the murderer of Kong's family, and murderer was the correct term in this case. Kong and his family were almost certainly minding their own business when some airplane pilot decided to have some sport.

"Miss Darrow," Doc said. "Try to encourage Kong to remain hidden. I'll see if I can encourage the pilots to land and talk to us."

So saying, Doc started to wave his bronze arms.

* * *

Kressler was stunned. There was a man at the mouth of the cave. The bronze skin coloring looked almost like that of the native savages far to the north, but the man was clad in khaki pants, black boots, and a white shirt. For the briefest of moments, Kressler wondered if somehow the Kaiser's idiot and psychotic son had somehow made it down here, but that was impossible.

And Kressler had his orders.

_**Kill **__the kong! _Kaiser Dietz had said. _Kill the kong and __**any **__human being you find with him. Be careful. We have evidence that the kong is being accompanied by men with advanced weaponry. _

Astonishingly enough, the Kaiser turned out to be correct. But then again, Kaiser Dietz was usually correct about everything.

Kressler waved his arm to signal his fellow pilots to attack. Kressler would lead off. He began his own attack dive.

* * *

There was a large rock, about four feet high and five feet thick, about two yards to Doc's left and one yard in front of him. Doc tensed his leg muscles to leap aside if he needed to. The pilot, if he elected to shoot at him, would be unlikely to hit Doc with his first bullets, giving the bronze giant time to leap out of the way of the volley. Doc continued to wave his arms even as the sound of the plane, and the steepness and swiftness of its dive, told him that he was being attacked. When the first shots were fired, Doc leaped aside even as he pulled out his own machine pistol and fired back!

The decision had been made. The battle had begun.

* * *

Kressler pulled up as bullets hit the front of his plane. It was an amazing shot on the fly, and what kind of gun was that man using?? It looked like a large pistol, but it fired like a machine gun!

* * *

As Doc ducked aside he yelled back at Renny.

"Renny, Protect Miss Darrow!"

"You got it, Doc!" Renny yelled back.

"I _told_ you so, Doctor Savage!" cried pretty Ann Darrow.

"Yeah, you did," Renny said. "But please stay with me."

Renny pulled out his own machine pistol. He noticed that Ann Darrow was loading little steel and vibranium balls into the sonic spear. Each one had to be levered into the firing chamber separately, and after she finished loading the sonic spear, she levered the first pellet into the chamber.

"Be _careful_ with that thing!" Renny said. "Leave the fighting to those of us _trained_ to do it."

Ann didn't say anything. T'maru, the Black Panther of the Wakanda, sprinted like his namesake to Doc's side and raised his sonic spear to his lips.

Kong returned to the ledge and grabbed the net. Then the great ape grabbed for something else, and the engineer suddenly_ knew_ what the net was designed for. Even considering Kong's previous accomplishments, Renny was absolutely stunned. He opened his mouth to speak, and nothing came out. He tried again, and it came out as a roar.

"**Holy cow! **

"**Doc! **_**Doc**_**!!**

"**I **_**know**_** what the net's for!**

"**It's a slingshot!**

"_**It's a slingshot!!!**_

"_**HOLY COW, DOC, IT'S A SLINGSHOT!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

* * *

_Unbidden, memories of watching his children and his females killed before his eyes returned as if the attack had happened yesterday. The murders happened ten years ago. _

_The aircraft flew towards the cavern entrance while their operators fired their weapons, but the projectiles didn't travel far into the cavern, so Kong was able to remain safe simply by staying back, away from the cavern entrance. The craft flew much more stiffly and awkwardly than birds, bats, flying insects, and pterosaurs, which meant that their motions were predictable. After the third aircraft had completed its run, but before the first aircraft could start its second run, Kong ran out of the cavern and placed the stone in the sling. Then, he began to whirl the sling sideways. As a knuckle walker, he did not have the wrist flexibility that the little apes had, but he was still able to get the stone whirling at a fast clip. He watched the first aircraft turn to begin its second run, judged its future direction, and suddenly pulled back his arm, releasing the stone from the sling. With grim satisfaction born of years of experience, Kong judged that his aim was accurate. _

_Soon, there would be one less aircraft in the sky._

* * *

Renny watched as Kong loaded his sling. He estimated that the stone Kong was using weighed at least three to four hundred pounds! When Kong whirled the sling with his right arm, standing on both of his feet and the knuckles of his left hand, the motion looked extremely awkward. But when Kong released the stone, Renny immediately saw that the great ape's aim was true.

The stone hit the first plane just as it was turning to begin its second strafing run. The plane was utterly _obliterated_! The fuel exploded in a fireball, and burning fragments rained down on the jungle below (Renny hoped the jungle wouldn't ignite!). The second plane had to turn away to avoid the flying debris. Meanwhile, as the third plane began its run, Kong ran back into the cavern, probably to retrieve a second stone. To cover the great ape, Renny ran out at a crouch and fired his machine pistol. The third plane's bullets struck the rocky ground in front of him, and Renny threw himself flat on his stomach to make himself as small a target as possible while continuing to fire. Renny could hear his bullets striking the plane. Smoke came from the plane and it started to sputter. The plane pulled up early. Kong, having reloaded his sling, walked out and nodded at Renny. The big engineer remembered Doc's words concerning Kong while they were hanging from the side of the Empire State Building:

_What I am saying is that the Venture did not capture a giant animal. It would be much more accurate to say they kidnapped an intelligent being, essentially a __**man**__ of a different species. _

Doc, as usual, was right. Renny and Kong regarded one another as comrades in arms who had each other's back. Then Kong turned and started to whirl his sling, and Renny raised his machine pistol again, ready to fire.

* * *

Kressler flew over the rock tower and watched with amusement as the giant silverback whirled his sling. The slings of the kong were terrifying weapons against the buildings and protective walls of New Prussia, but they were ineffective against moving aircraft. There was only _one_ kong who could hit a moving airplane with his sling and he was long… _gone_…?

Kressler saw Jorgensen's plane explode as it was struck by the stone from the kong's sling. He turned his airplane around to get a closer look. The kong was going back into the cavern, probably to get another stone for his sling, but even from this distance, Kressler could see the all too familiar scars!

Clearly, the infamous kong who could use a slingshot to shoot planes out of the sky was _not so long gone_ after all!

With renewed determination, Kressler started another dive, almost straight down, and fired his guns.

* * *

_The new volley of projectiles raining down from almost directly above them forced Kong and his little dark haired ape companion back into the cavern. As he retreated, Kong fired his sling at another aircraft, but this time he missed. _

_**This**__ was unexpected! Clearly, one of the aircraft operators was much more skilled than his fellows. The others, Kong expected, would soon fly closer along the side of the stone tower, hoping to shoot Kong and his companions as they emerged from the cavern. _

_But __**that**__ strategy had its __**own**__ drawbacks. Drawbacks Kong already had a plan to exploit. _

* * *

Monk, Driscoll, Ham, and Pat all rapidly climbed to the top of the great wall and watched as six airplanes attacked the huge natural stone tower to the south and east. Driscoll had identified the stone tower as Kong's home. However, it was difficult to tell what was happening, even with the binoculars they were each looking through.

"That black dot, is that _Kong_?" Driscoll asked.

"I think _so_," Monk said. Even as the ape-like chemist finished speaking, one of the planes exploded.

"What happened _there_?" Pat asked.

"I dunno, but see the even smaller dot standing where Kong was?" Monk said. Even as he watched, another one of the planes started to smoke before pulling up and flying over the stone tower. "I think that's a human being."

"_Ann_?" Driscoll asked.

"I dunno," Monk replied. For a moment, he wondered if Kong had killed or lost Doc, Renny, and T'maru and simply returned with Ann Darrow to his home, playing the rest of them for suckers. If so, Monk, still angry over the death of Crystal Evans, swore to himself that he would take a terrible revenge on the great ape! He knew that Ham at least would back him up.

On the other hand, the tiny dot _could_ have been one of his friends, shooting at the planes.

"We need to get _closer_!" Pat exclaimed in frustration.

Monk looked down at the huge and deep natural dry moat.

"Yeah, but we ain't getting the Rumbler past _that_," Monk said.

"So what do we _do_?" asked Driscoll.

"We sit tight, and hope that the good guys win," said Ham. "Then we hope that they come back here just as Kong promised."

"_See_?" Monk said. "Even a fancy pants shyster can be right every once and awhile. Kinda like a broken clock."

"_Shut up_, you stupid ape!" Ham yelled at Monk angrily.

"Eloquence!" Monk said, allowing himself the smallest of smiles at his best friend's expense. "Simple _eloquence_!"

* * *

As bullets struck the rock around them, Doc turned to T'maru, who still had his sonic spear to his mouth.

"We need to find out more about these pilots and their planes," Doc said. "We need a prisoner!"

T'maru nodded, but otherwise did not change his position. When one of the planes began another run at them, T'maru pointed his spear at it, and blew. The plane's propeller shattered into two pieces, and the plane burst into flames. Like a flaming meteor, it fell straight down towards the ocean, but exploded before hitting the water.

Doc suspected that the pilots, as best they could, would now fly closer to the stone tower to make themselves harder targets.

A reckless plan sprang to Doc's mind. He reached for his utility belt and pulled out a grappling hook and a length of thin but very strong nylon cord. The "miracle fiber" had been invented just two years before by a chemist named Wallace Carothers, and Monk and Doc had assisted in making refinements to the new material.

"_Cover_ me," Doc said to T'maru. The Black Panther simply nodded. Doc ran out and along the stone ledge that surrounded the stone tower.

Behind them both, unnoticed by anyone, Ann Darrow, carrying the second sonic spear, began to carefully climb to the summit of the stone tower.

* * *

Horst did the best he could, but the tank could not travel swiftly south of the Great Break. It had taken them an hour to get far enough east to find a gradual slope for the tank to travel down. Then, it took another hour and a half to double back and find the kong's trail again. The deep and narrow canyons, the steep upthrusts, and the ruins further contributed to the slow going. The kong could travel directly through and over the canyons and cliffs. The tank could not.

An additional difficulty in following the kong's trail were the herds of long necked Brontosaurs, armored Diablosaurs, and horned Farracutus (all described and named by Hoffman's late wife), and the swift predatory Vanatosaurs following the herds. Hoffman often had to take refuge in the tank (Vanatosaurs were much harder to kill than Vastatosaurs, and they ran in larger packs, much like their Loboraptor cousins).

After the latest herd of Brontosaurs had passed, and the Venatosaurs had circled widely around the tank, Hoffman chanced opening the tank's top hatch and looking around with his binoculars.

In between the calls of the birds, he heard airplane engines to the south. Kressler's squadron had arrived. He got out of the tank and stood on the top of it. He saw the airplanes flying in the distance. Hoffman carefully climbed down the tank and ran to the closest vine covered ruin. The ruin appeared to be part of an overgrown pyramid of some sort. Some pseudo-avian scavengers scattered in front of him, and a large millipede also undulated out of his way. Hoffman got to the top of the pyramid just in time to see one of the planes explode. Hoffman recognized the natural stone tower, which he had last seen 15 years before from the deck of the U170. They called it "the Lighthouse". Hoffman estimated that it was about ten kilometers south of his present position.

"Of _course_," Hoffman muttered to himself. "_That's_ the highest ground here. _That's_ where a kong would go!"

The fight would probably be done by the time they got there, one way or another, but he still had his orders from Kaiser Dietz. Hoffman ran back down the pyramid and got back into the tank.

"Go south," he said to Horst. "I believe Kressler has found the kong."

* * *

T'maru blew a sustained hypersonic note through his sonic spear, scoring the fuselage of the smoking plane that Renny had hit earlier. The pilot took the plane lower, just as Doc and the Black Panther suspected he would. As the plane flew close to the side of the stone tower, Doc started to run along the ledge until the ledge ran out, then he jumped down onto the next ridge 8 feet below. Doc listened as the plane swung around the tower and heard the guns as the pilot shot at the north cavern entrance, trying to get a shot at Kong and perhaps Renny as well. Then Doc heard the plane as it cleared the opposite side of the natural stone tower. Smelling the smoke from the plane's last pass, he quickly slipped on his protective leather gloves and took the nylon cord and the grappling hook into his hands and held it ready to throw. He listened as once again the pilot took the plane low to avoid the next shot from T'maru's sonic spear. Just before the smoking plane flew by, Doc threw the hook out. His toss was perfect, and the hook snagged the top wing right in front of and over the pilot's head. Doc, the cord wrapped around his gloved hands, leaped out and was pulled by the plane. He landed hard on the fuselage right behind the pilot and quickly clamped his legs tight on each side of the surprisingly thin fuselage. It was a painful landing, but Doc held on for dear life. The pilot looked up and around, trying to identify what had hit his plane. Doc quickly looped the nylon cord around his neck and leaned down and yelled in the pilot's ear.

"Take the plane down," Doc said in German. "Do not try to dislodge me by turning over. If you do, the loop around your neck will tighten suddenly and you will lose your head. Do you understand?"

The pilot didn't say anything, and Doc, his legs aching as he tried to ride the airplane like it was a huge mechanical horse, was momentarily concerned that the pilot was so startled that he would lose control of his plane and fly it into the side of the tower. But then the pilot responded with a slight nod.

"Ja," he said.

Carefully, the pilot turned his plane towards the nearest clearing in the forest below.

* * *

Kressler watched in disbelief as Vogt's plane flew off and landed in a clearing. And was that_ another_ man sitting _on_ the plane _behind _the pilot? No, it _couldn't_ have been! It must have been a momentary illusion created by the smoke from Vogt's plane. Vogt must have had damage to his plane that forced him to land.

So:

They were now down to three planes. _Three _pilots. But one of the pilots was Joseph Kressler. _That_ would be enough!

Kressler skillfully avoided the next big stone block hurled by the kong and his sling. The other two pilots were flying close to the tower to avoid both the slingshot and the advanced weapons of the kong's human companions. Kressler, however, remained at a distance, flying like a madman with loops and dives and climbs that made him and his plane almost impossible to hit from the ground.

Kressler and his pilots had successfully pinned the kong and his human companions within the cavern. Now it was time to end the game. Kressler pulled out an explosive flechette filled with highly flammable material. Upon detonation, the flechette would create a rapidly expanding fireball that would burn hot, but not for very long. Dropped at the cavern entrance, the resulting fireball would immediately incinerate the humans and blind the kong while fatally searing his lungs. These weapons had been very effective against the kong army that had attempted to destroy New Prussia. Now Kressler would use that same weapon to destroy the last of the kongs.

* * *

Ann Darrow threw herself flat and hid herself every time a plane flew by, then she would get up and climb again. Eventually, Ann reached the summit of the rock tower. Apparently, there were now only three planes left. Two of them were circling close to the stone tower and shooting at the entrances. It was very difficult for her to get a clean shot at either one of them. But there was a third plane in the distance. This plane would make runs at either the north or the south cavern entrance. Then, at the last moment, the plane would pull up, loop around, and then it would fly almost straight down with its guns firing. Ann was unable to get a clear shot at that plane as well.

Suddenly, the pilot changed his tactics. He now approached from the east. There was no clear view to the east from either of the cavern entrances. The pilot turned his plane so that he was flying it at about a 45 to 50 degree angle. Now, finally, Ann had a clean shot. She stood up and aimed the spear at the plane, bringing the mouthpiece to her lips. Holding the spear steady, she blew a clean and strong note. She couldn't hear the note, but she could feel it.

And as she blew on the sonic spear, she wondered what the pilot was holding in his hand.

* * *

Kressler was wondering where the beautiful woman with the silver spear had come from when something went wrong. There was a sudden and huge pain in Kressler's stomach. The pain extended to his back. He looked down, and saw a hole in his stomach, and indeed in the instrument panel of his plane. The plane's engine had ceased to work, undoubtedly damaged by the same projectile that had put a hole in him. As he slumped forward, no longer able to hold himself erect with a shattered spine, he forgot about the object he was holding in his right hand. When he dropped the flechette, it landed in his cockpit.

* * *

The planes were keeping them pinned in the cavern, and there seemed to be little they could do about it. Suddenly, however, Kong started to look around frantically, making short grunts of what appeared to be alarm.

"_Renny_!" T'maru hissed urgently. "Renny, where's _Ann_?"

"Oh _no_!" gasped Renny. "I forgot to watch her. She's gone."

"And she's taken the other sonic spear with her," T'maru said grimly.

Suddenly, from outside, there was a terrific explosion.

* * *

Ann stood immobile in silent shock.

She had just _killed_ a man! Another human being full of memories, loves and hatreds! It was a dreadful thing to have done and yet it was clear that the man intended to kill her and her companions, including King Kong. Ann searched her soul, and realized that she would do exactly the same thing if given another opportunity.

* * *

T'maru sprinted to the north cavern entrance and looked outside. The Tri-Plane wedged between two large rocks burned like a bonfire.

"_**Ann**_!" he yelled.

"_Up_ _**here**_!" Ann yelled back. T'maru looked up and there she was, standing on the summit of the natural stone tower. Holding the sonic spear in her right hand, she looked like a warrior goddess.

"Did _you_ do that?" T'maru asked, pointing at the flaming debris on the shore.

"Yes," Ann answered. Then her eyes went wide. "_T'maru_! _Look __**out**_!"

T'maru ducked into the cavern just in time as one of the remaining planes made a run at the entrance. Bullets whistled past the Black Panther of the Wakanda, but none of them struck him.

* * *

Ann ducked behind the nearest rock. She still wasn't sure if the two remaining pilots had spotted her. The pilot who had seen her was now gone, thanks to her.

Ann started to sob, but then she ruthlessly cut herself off.

There were still two other planes out there. Two more enemies to fight!

* * *

_It was time to end this, before one of the other two aircraft dropped one of their flame spears. _

_And since the operators insisted on flying their aircraft right above the cavern entrances, the means to end this fiasco were obvious. _

_Kong looked up. _

* * *

"What's he doing now?" Renny asked.

Kong was looking up at the roof of the cavern. Then he started to roar and swing his sling like a net, as if he was trying to capture one of the giant bats roosting above him. Renny wondered briefly if the giant gorilla had lost his mind.

But then, as the bats started to squeal in protest, Renny understood the great ape's plan.

"Brilliant tactics," Renny said to T'maru.

"I concur," T'maru replied.

Then both men ducked as the angry giant bats swarmed over their heads and out the two entrances.

* * *

Klaus Goebbels screamed as the huge bats swarmed out of the cavern entrance. One of them collided with his plane, knocking it to the side. Then a second giant bat flew right into his propeller.

* * *

_One of the aircraft got entangled with two of the bats and went down into the ocean. The other evaded the bats and started to fly away. Kong grabbed another stone for his slingshot. It wouldn't do for the operator to warn his fellow clan mates. The great ape started to whirl his sling for one last shot, before the aircraft flew out of range. _

* * *

As the pilot made his final approach, Doc thought he saw the Rumbler in the distance, but then realized that he was looking at a smaller vehicle.

He didn't think that the similarity in design was a coincidence.

The landing was rough, and for Doc painful as he strained to retain his position on the plane through leg strength alone. But eventually, the plane came to a complete stop.

* * *

Hoffman had Horst stop the tank after they had traveled perhaps another half kilometer. They were now in a clearing, and his view was clearer.

Opening the top hatch, Hoffman took out his binoculars and trained them on the natural rock tower. There appeared to be only one plane left, and it was retreating. From this distance, the kong was a tiny figure, but he could still tell what the animal was doing. He was using a sling.

The kong's missle hit the plane's left wings, breaking them all in two. The plane then spun out of control and crashed into the jungle.

To Hoffman's knowledge, only one kong was able to shoot planes out of the sky with his slingshot. He ducked back down into the tank.

"Horst!" Hoffman said. "I need to get a closer look. You stay here. I am going to go on foot."

So saying, Hoffman, with his high powered shotgun in hand, climbed back out of the tank and dropped to the ground. Then he took off at a jog towards the natural rock tower.

* * *

_Kong watched as the little blond ape climbed back down. She had obviously gone and shot down one of the aircraft on her own! Kong reached up and plucked her from the ledge. He put her on his shoulder, then he grabbed both the little dark skinned ape and the little dark haired ape and placed them on his back. Then he started to climb down to where the little bronze ape was waiting for them. _

* * *

Panting hard, Hoffman stopped jogging and, hiding behind a tree (while hoping no Loboraptors, running crocodiles, or Vanatosaurs were lurking nearby), watched as one of Kressler's pilots climbed gingerly out of the cockpit. Behind him, incredibly sitting on the fuselage itself, was a huge bronze skinned man who looked like one of the northern natives, but was dressed in western clothes. Then, from beyond them, there was a terrific series of crashes, and suddenly the kong emerged into the clearing, with armed human passengers on his back!

Hoffman turned and started to carefully move away. He had to get to the tank and the wireless. He had to tell Dietz that the dreaded Scarred General of the kong was still alive.

* * *

_She was relaxed, lying with her back against the great tree trunk. Ants climbed all over her body. Two of them expressed milk from her breast for the tiny newborn infant lying on her chest. Then, one of the attending ants picked up the infant and brought him to one of her sisters. The infant then nursed from the ant's mouth. _

_Suddenly, the ants stopped their work, and her patriarch and her mate sisters all stopped what they were doing. They heard something, so she listened too. It was faint, a low frequency sound reproduction from one of the ants' sisters to the south. One by one the ants around her picked up on the signal. _

_The ants often tried to reproduce important sounds that they heard by a combination of drumming with their back legs and their antennae, and by vibrating their bodies through their spiracles. The reproductions of the actual sounds were imperfect, but the fidelity of reproduction from one ant to another was flawless. What they were listening to was the funeral song of another kong, coming from the south! _

_But what was more, the ant reproduction was accurate enough so that, even though important frequencies and harmonics were missing, the individuality of the song was still preserved. _

_She recognized the song. It was one she had first heard when she was a little girl. _

"_**Father," **__she said. _

Next

Chapter 17

Tragedy!

**I named the old woman from the movie Laloog in tribute to the evil old woman from H. Rider Haggard's novel **_**King Solomon's Mines.**_** That character's name was Gagool. **

**The Fokker Tri-Plane was invented in 1917, right after the Sopwith Tri-Plane. The Fokker Tri-Plane was flown by the infamous Red Baron. Nylon was invented in 1931. Flechettes were used by both sides in aerial combat during World War I. **

**There were a couple of little tributes thrown in this chapter. One was the Dentism "pretty Ann Darrow" (Dent tended to write out the full names of characters along with a single adjective to indicate their appearance). Also, the line "This frosts the stinking cake" was directly lifted from a 1970's black and white Doc Savage comic written by Doug Moench, one of the best comic book writers of his or any generation. It was uttered by an uncharacteristically angry Doc Savage. **


	17. Chapter 17 Tragedy!

**First of all, real life is catching up with me in **_**spades**_** (mostly in a very **_**good**_** way; marriage, daughter graduating high school, selling one house and buying another, starting a **_**big**_** research project, plus the usual end of school year work), so I am going to put this story on ice for awhile after this chapter. As before, barring catastrophe I am **_**committed**_** to finishing this story, but it **_**will**_** be awhile. **

**Secondly, fair warning, **_**favorite**_** character death ahead. **

Chapter 17

Tragedy!

_Kong was fascinated. The little bronze skinned ape had apparently captured the operator of one of the aircraft. The little bronze ape and the dark haired ape were both speaking to the operator in their peculiar sound segmenting language. _

_Kong looked at the aircraft. It was identical to the one that was used to kill his family. He desperately wanted to destroy it, but two considerations stopped him from doing so. One, the aircraft when damaged tended to burst into flames. Second, it was possible one of his little ape companions could operate the aircraft, which might come in handy if __**more**__ of the aircraft were to come. _

_Still, they had won the victory today, and Kong wished to commemorate their victory as he did all of his other victories. He carefully, indeed gently, placed his right foot on the aircraft, stood, beat his chest, and roared. _

* * *

Laloog smiled. The Great Kong had returned! The Great Kong had prevailed! She turned to look at the intruders, expecting to see them shrink in consternation and fear.

She was shocked and disappointed. Whether standing on the wall or on their machine-animal, they all looked happy and relieved.

_Why were they happy instead of afraid_??

* * *

"Well," said Pat. "No questioning who _that_ is! He must be OK. Hopefully the others are OK too."

"I think that's his victory roar," Driscoll said.

" 'Victory roar'?" Ham asked.

"Yeah," Driscoll said as he remembered his last trip to "Skull Island". "The last time I heard a roar like that, I was climbing out of the insect pit to go after Ann. Later, I found out that Kong was roaring and beating his chest after killing three nasty dinosaurs."

"So the king is announcing he's back in charge," Pat said.

"Sounds like it," Driscoll said. "Hopefully His Majesty will now keep his promise."

* * *

"Who are you?" Doc asked the pilot in German.

"I am Jared Wolfgang Vogt," the pilot said. He was a young man (probably no more than 20) with freckles and red hair peeking out from under his helmet. "I am a Lieutenant with the Imperial Air Force of New Prussia."

Doc nodded.

"I am Doctor Clark Savage, these are my friends Colonel John Renwick, Frauline Ann Darrow, and Doctor Umaru," Doc replied. He referred to T'Maru by his original name on the extremely remote chance that Vogt was familiar with the naming conventions of the Wakandans. No need to tell their captive that they had a Wakandan prince with them. "And of course, you know our friend Kong."

"General Scar?" Vogt said. "Oh yes, we know him."

The young pilot looked very uneasy as he looked at Kong. Kong, for his part, seemed to ignore the pilot as he examined the plane.

"Hope he doesn't break it," Renny said.

"I don't think he will," Doc replied. "He's been very gentle with it so far."

"Well, with _that_ plane anyway," Renny replied. Doc turned back to look at Vogt.

"Tell me about New Prussia," Doc said.

* * *

Carl Denham was inspecting the anchor line when he heard the roar.

It was Kong! He was close by!

Denham finished his examination and went over to the other side of the ship to stand next to Captain Englehorn and Nate Reynolds.

"You hear that?" Denham said.

"Of course, Carl," Englehorn said. "Is the anchor still secure?"

"It is, Captain," Denham replied.

"Good," Englehorn said. "I suspect we may be moving closer to shore quite soon."

* * *

Everyone had gathered around the Rumbler. The natives were, as the old saying went, restless. They had gathered in a loose circle around the Rumbler. Everyone had their machine pistols out and at the ready.

"What do you think has them all stirred up?" Monk asked.

"My surmise is that the indigenous individuals are feeling an increase in confidence based on the assumption that the return of the prodigious pongid is due to his efforts and occurred in spite of ours," Johnny said.

This time, even Monk was confused.

"Huh?" he squeaked.

"He means that the natives think that Kong escaped us," Ham said. "Consequently, they are now less impressed with us and are more likely to try something."

Monk stared at Ham. Then he turned to look at Johnny.

"Ham's paraphrasing of my remarks is by and large correct," Johnny said.

Ham smiled.

"Like you said, stupid ape, eloquence is my business," Ham said. "That means that I can better understand the eloquence of others. Even others like Johnny.

"Unlike a certain pea brained anthropoid of my acquaintance."

"Shaddup, shyster," Monk growled. Blast Johnny and his twenty dollar words! He'd tipped the taunt advantage back to Ham!

"Eloquence," said Ham. "Simple _eloquence_."

* * *

Kaiser Dietz had just sat down to eat a breakfast of scrambled duckbill egg and sliced giant green cherry when Gruber, who was substituting for Sitter in his absence, tentatively knocked on the door to his suite.

"Excellency," Gruber said. "Colonel Hoffman is on the wireless."

Dietz threw down his fork in irritation, and looked at the serving thrall.

"Throw this out and have the kitchen ready to prepare this breakfast again upon my return," he said.

The thrall nodded her bronze head, and started to remove the dishes.

Dietz, Gruber, and his two bodyguards walked the corridors to the wireless room. The wireless room was closer to his office than it was to the suite, and during the walk Dietz's irritation at having his breakfast interrupted was replaced by his irritation at having to wait to hear Hoffman's message.

Hopefully, the message was simple. The kong was dead, and so were the armed men with him.

* * *

The men all watched Laloog nervously. One nod from her, and they would all throw their spears, and some of the intruders would die.

However, Laloog did nothing. The intruder's weapons didn't seem to kill, but they did incapacitate. And every one of them, even the female, was armed. The female looked somewhat like the people to the north, but not entirely, and Laloog had not seen them since she was a very young woman, and that was many years ago.

In the meantime, they continued to surround the intruders. Soon, the Great Kong would return, and when he did, they would attack. Some would fall, but eventually the intruders would be overwhelmed, and they would be offered to the Great Kong for his vengeance!

Then suddenly, the men around her started to falter and chatter in fear. What was wrong with them?

Then she heard what they heard. She looked up, and one of the flying machine-animals was coming this way!

* * *

"Uh oh," said Monk.

The plane was flying in a path directly over their heads.

"I thought Kong and hopefully the others had gotten all of the planes," Long Tom said. They'd seen one of the planes blow up and four others go down. One of the planes seemed to fly off and then go down for a landing. Was that the plane they were seeing now?

The plane flew directly over them. It was a tri-plane, smaller than the Fokkers and Sopwiths Long Tom had seen during the war. The color was plain, a dull metallic grey, but the iron crosses on the wings still stood out.

"That's a Jerry plane!" Monk yelled.

"Looks like it," Ham agreed grimly.

Then, suddenly, as the plane flew past them, the pilot wiggled back and forth in the barnstormer's wave, and Long Tom, himself a gifted pilot, knew who the pilot was. It was the man he considered to be his best friend, with the possible exception of Doc.

"_Renny's_ flying that plane!" Long Tom yelled. "That's _Renny_!"

The plane flew back over the wall, and then Long Tom heard a very familiar sound. The roar of Kong on the other side!

After Kong roared, there was silence except for the engine of the airplane, which sounded like it was coming in for a landing close by.

Then, Long Tom and the others heard a very familiar voice shout from beyond the wall.

"Brothers!" Doc Savage cried. "Lower the bridge."

* * *

Laloog sent two of the young warriors (as if any of her young men could _really_ be _warriors_, as pathetic as her people had become) to the top of the Wall over the Great Door. Two of the intruders, the very tall one and the one who looked like a miniature cross between a man and the Great Kong himself, were going to the bridge mechanism. Laloog didn't know what to do. She wanted to yell at the young men to stop the intruders, but the Great Kong was just outside, and the intruders did not seem to be afraid.

"What do you see?" she cried to the men at the top of the Wall.

"The Great Kong is here!" one of them cried. "And there is a man with him, a man who looks like the brother of the bronze skinned girl. And there's someone else.

"_The last sacrifice_! She is with them! She…the Great Kong has just picked her up and put her on his back!"

The last sacrifice? The sun haired outsider with eyes the color of the sea and sky? The last time they had seen her, she was running from the Great Kong, and he chased her almost to the ocean before the intruders somehow tricked the Great Kong and made him sleep! Now, they had _both_ returned? Laloog felt several emotions at once, roughly equal portions of confusion, elation, rage, and terror. Her men on the wall looked at her with stupid, glazed expressions; waiting for her to tell them what to do.

"Do nothing," she finally said. "Let them lower the bridge."

After a moment, she amended her orders.

"Open the great door," she said. "Let them enter!"

* * *

Jack Driscoll anxiously watched as the great door opened. On the other side, he saw Doc Savage striding confidently along the bridge. Accompanying Doc, with his head down, was a red headed young man in aviation clothes, obviously the pilot of one of the planes they had seen, and obviously a prisoner.

As if in one voice, Doc's friends all cried out their relieved greetings.

"_Doc_!"

"We _knew_ you'd make it back!"

"What _happened_, Doc?"

These extremely competent and brilliant men all seemed to turn into hero worshipping boys. Even Pat smiled broadly, and seemed to be very relieved to see him. But there was no one else on the bridge. No Renny. No T'maru. And most of all, no Ann!

Heedless of the fact that he was surrounded by a people who had tried to kill him on more than one occasion, Driscoll ran forward to the bridge.

"Doctor Savage!" he cried. "_Where's_ Ann?"

"She's saying goodbye to Kong," Doc said. Then he turned to Johnny even as the gaunt giant opened his mouth to speak. "T'maru and Renny are on their way. Renny landed the plane on the field about three hundred yards northeast from the moat, and T'maru is there to make sure he makes it back here OK."

Doc turned to Long Tom.

"Radio the Venture," he said. "Tell them that we made it back."

"What about the crew of the Wakandan airship?" Johnny asked.

"Unfortunately, they did _not_ make it," Doc said. "They died before we could get to them."

Long Tom ran back to the Rumbler to radio the Venture.

* * *

Long Tom's voice came over the radio he designed.

"Rumbler to Venture, Rumbler to Venture," Long Tom said.

"Venture here," Jimmy replied.

"They made it," Long Tom said. "All of them. Kong came through."

Captain Englehorn came over to stand beside Jimmy.

"The tide is low," the Captain said. "We'll have to wait until it comes back up again, and then we'll be able to come close to shore."

"Understood," Long Tom said. "Rumbler out."

Captain Englehorn smiled and clapped Jimmy on the back. Then he walked out of the cabin and started barking orders.

"Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Denham, and Mr. Ohara!" Captain Englehorn yelled. "It's time to haul anchor. As soon as the tide rises, we're going back to shore!"

Several voices yelled "Aye _Aye,_ Captain!"

None of the voices were more enthusiastic then the one belonging to Carl Denham.

* * *

Kaiser Dietz sat and stared at the wireless. He wanted to pick it up and pitch it to the floor, but unlike his volatile son, Dietz could control his rage.

Five planes _down_, _two _of them shot down by the slingshot of a kong! _The _Kong! _**General Scar himself**_!!!!!!!

And General Scar had _allies_, men with guns and other weapons, including the odd looking spears that Hoffman had found by the wrecked airship. Two of the men looked like natives with western clothing.

Whatever was happening, it was very dangerous. Everything that Dietz had spent the past sixteen years building was in danger of falling apart!

He remembered the first encounters with the beasts the natives called kong. They were extraordinarily powerful, quick, and intelligent animals, difficult to hunt. More challenging even than the Vastatosaurs and Loboraptors!

So his men started to try to hunt them. Some of his men were killed in the attempt. Eventually, the kong fled the immediate vicinity of New Prussia, at least for a year or so.

Then, ten years ago, they came back: Forty silverbacks and perhaps thirty more blackback males and even some females. They came armed with slings, and they were led by an older, scarred silverback who was perhaps the largest of them all!

General Scar's tactics were brilliant. Using giant slingshots, they smashed down the brick and concrete wall that had separated New Prussia from Atlantis' most dangerous wildlife. The Kong army would have overrun New Prussia if it wasn't for the airplanes, the explosive flechettes, and the flammable material loaded into artillery shells, all of which were modifications made from the plans he had found in a safe on board the RMS Hellenic.

As it was, the giant gorillas were burned and shot and driven back into the forest, and then the forest was burned down for kilometers and kilometers. The high oxygen content of the atmosphere created the most spectacular fireballs ever seen with human eyes, and even through the gigantic trees did seem to be fire resistant, they eventually succumbed. The attacking kong force was eventually routed, chased down, and killed to the last ape. Then their families were found and destroyed as well. The campaign took two years, but eventually it was completed.

Or so Kaiser Dietz had thought.

But now, it appeared that the most dangerous kong of all had survived, and worse, he had returned with new allies.

In the end, there could only be _one_ king of the peninsula of Atlantis. Dietz was more determined than ever to be that king.

* * *

It was very ironic. The first time Ann Darrow saw Kong, she was bound as a sacrifice and looking with horror at the huge creature she was being sacrificed to.

Now, here she was, standing in almost exactly the same place, preparing to leave that same creature with a huge lump in her throat, and a pain in her chest. She felt like she was leaving her best friend.

Kong reached out and with a gentleness that was astonishing touched her tear streaked face with one huge finger. He made a sound. Ann knew that he was saying goodbye.

"_Goodbye_, Kong," Ann said. "I will miss you, and I hope with us you felt like you weren't so alone."

Ann touched her hand to her chest, producing her improvised gesture for "beauty".

Kong echoed the gesture back at her.

Ann nodded, and turned and started to walk across the drawbridge. After taking a couple of steps, and hearing the crash of branches, she turned around to watch Kong leave.

But he was already gone.

Seconds later, T'maru and Renny emerged from the woods.

"Did Kong already leave?" Renny asked.

Her vision blurring, Ann nodded yes, and turned and walked across the bridge into the City of the Dead.

* * *

With the rising tide, the Venture started to make her way to shore. The crewmen were all hustling about from one duty to the next. Reynolds was giving depth readings, Helstrom was steering, Jimmy Hayes was back in his crow's nest, and Carl Denham, having hauled anchor with Red O'Hara, was looking around for something else to do.

"_I've_ got something for you to do," O'Hara told Denham.

"OK," Denham said. "Lead on, McDuff."

"Huh?" O'Hara said.

"It's from MacBeth by William Shakespeare," Denham said. O'Hara continued to look at him blankly.

"Never mind," Denham said.

"So you think I'm _stupid_, eh?" O'Hara said as they arrived at the back of the ship, overlooking the wake from the propeller.

"No I don't..." Denham started to say as he turned into a right cross from O'Hara. Denham fell flat on his back.

"Well, college boy," O'Hara snarled as he pulled Denham back to his feet. "I need you to check out the _propeller_."

Denham, his head still ringing, brought up his right fist in a short punch to O'Hara's face. O'Hara bit his tongue and staggered back so that he was perfectly situated to receive Denham's follow-up left hook. Even though Red O'Hara was taller, and probably fifty pounds heavier, Denham's fist hit him perfectly at the junction between jaw and skull. The bigger man's eyes rolled back, and he fell back onto the rail and would have gone over if Denham hadn't grabbed the front of his shirt. Instead, O'Hara fell forward onto his hands and knees, his head lolling.

After O'Hara finished vomiting, Denham grabbed the big man by his hair and pulled his head back.

"You tried to_** kill**_ me!" Denham snarled. "_Who_ put you up to this? _Helstrom_?"

Then, there was a huge sudden pain in the back of Denham's skull, and he fell face forward on top of O'Hara. Both men collapsed in a heap.

"Yeah," Denham heard the English accented voice of crewman Timothy Hanks say. "It _was_ Helstrom."

Then Denham lost consciousness.

At least until he hit the water churned by the propeller.

* * *

U170 rounded the tip of the peninsula and started to come back north. The only people who lived here were cannibals huddling behind a great wall. They were so pathetic that Kaiser Dietz didn't even want to take the effort to turn them into thralls. There was nothing of interest there except some old ruins, and Sitter had no interest in archeology or anything that took him outdoors.

But now there was something interesting he could see through the periscope. A mid-sized cargo ship was moving towards the shore!

Of course, Sitter thought, Kaiser Dietz was correct yet again. The odd airship that Hoffman had found was accompanied by a ship. Sitter looked through the periscope, and saw men hustling around the deck. The name of the ship was the Venture, which meant nothing to Sitter.

Sitter moved the periscope around until he located the ship's captain. He was obviously giving orders. He was a strong looking man, and Sitter thought he looked familiar. Then, as the captain stepped forward to talk to the crewman taking depth readings, he saw the captain's face.

"_Englehorn_!" Sitter hissed. "_Josef __**Englehorn**_!"

Sitter grabbed his first officer by the arm and pushed him in front of the periscope.

"Watch that ship!" Sitter said.

Then he turned and looked at two of his other crewmen.

"Ready torpedoes!" he cried.

It wasn't every day that one got the chance to kill the man his Kaiser hated most in all of two worlds!

* * *

Helstrom saw the periscope first. In his misspent youth in the German Navy, he had seen U-boats. He knew what he was seeing, and he knew what the U-boat was doing.

He ran out of the pilot's cabin. He yelled no warning to his crewmates.

* * *

Without Helstrom steering the Venture, she listed to the side. That listing saved Denham's life, at least temporarily. When he hit the water and woke up disoriented and panic stricken, Denham tried to kick away from where he thought he felt the churning propeller. He knew that he might well get sucked in, but because the ship turned he succeeded in kicking away. The turbulence from the propeller actually pushed him to relative safety,_ relative_ safety because after all, he was in the ocean on Kong's world, and he had seen the monsters that inhabited the water.

"_**Help**_!" Denham yelled. "_**Man overboard**_!"

But no one seemed to hear him, and now the Venture was picking up speed and heading away from him.

* * *

Englehorn, with Reynolds and Jimmy Hayes at his side, took the steps two at a time up to the pilot's cabin. Helstrom had deserted his post! Why?

Englehorn saw why as soon as he reached the cabin and looked out over the open ocean. He saw the periscope. He recognized the shape just under the water. A U-boat; very similar to the one he served on when he was young, patriotic, and stupid!

It was approaching the Venture at a right angle, and moving slowly. Englehorn recognized an attack approach. Helstrom must have recognized it too!

Englehorn began to wrestle the steering wheel.

"Mr. Hayes, Mr. Reynolds, sound the alarm," Englehorn said. "Get everyone to the lifeboats! _**Abandon ship**_!!"

"_**Sir**_?" Jimmy, obviously stunned, asked.

"There's _no time for explanations_, boy, just _**do**_ what I say!" Englehorn yelled. The U-boat was large, a U-cruiser. There was no way that they would be able to outrun the sub before it fired its torpedoes. Worse, the U-boat was perfectly situated to target the engine room, and if the torpedoes hit the engines, in this high oxygen atmosphere the ship would likely explode! Their only chance was for Englehorn to turn the ship so that the torpedoes would hit the small hold. When the torpedoes hit, the Venture was still doomed. She would still sink. But she would sink more slowly, and that would allow time for her crew to evacuate the ship and get started for shore. Fortunately, the Venture was between the sub and the shore, so the crew on the lifeboats _might_ be able to get to shore before the U-boat caught them.

Englehorn had no idea why a U-boat was in these waters more than fifteen years after the War ended, or why they were being targeted, and at this point, it didn't matter.

* * *

"Abandon ship!" Jimmy Hayes yelled. "Everyone to the boats! Now!"

"Have you lost your _mind_, boy?" Timothy Hanks asked as he slipped something into his pocket. "Wait, why am I asking _you_?"

"_Captain's_ _**orders**_, Hanks!" Jimmy replied.

"Why would he give an order like _that_?" Hanks asked. Jimmy had a bad feeling about Hanks. He'd noticed that Hanks had been hanging around with proven creeps Red O'Hara and Nils Helstrom lately.

"Does it matter?" asked Reynolds as he ran down the steps behind Jimmy.

"Is the crazy boy telling the _truth_?" Hanks asked incredulously.

"He is, Hanks, now shut your hole and help get the lifeboats ready!" Reynolds said.

When they got to the lifeboats, Jimmy was not surprised to see that Helstrom was already there. Whatever the Captain had seen, it was obvious that Helstrom had seen it first!

* * *

The wireless response to Sitter's inquiry from Kaiser Dietz was immediate and to the point.

_Englehorn is on that ship and you ask me what I want you to do? Surely the answer is obvious. _

And it was.

"_**Fire torpedoes**_!" yelled Sitter.

* * *

The first torpedo hit the Venture in the middle port side, where the smaller hold was. Unfortunately, like thread going through the eye of a needle the second torpedo went through the hole made by the first and blew a hole into the large hold. The explosion also blew debris straight up and back into the pilot's cabin. The Venture began to take in water, rapidly.

* * *

"Captain!" Jimmy yelled as the ship began to list. Most of the debris had been blown above them. The rest of the crew worked frantically to deploy the lifeboats. Jimmy, however, ran back up the steps and towards the pilot's cabin, where Captain Englehorn was. There was black smoke everywhere, and a big hole in the deck of the ship.

"_**Captain**_!!!" Jimmy yelled again.

_Please, God, no!! _Jimmy pleaded in his mind. First Mr. Hayes, now the _Captain_? No, it couldn't be.

But it was. Englehorn was lying on his back at the rear of the cabin, although he would soon slip forward again as the ship's forward list became more pronounced. A twisted piece of metal was sticking out of his stomach, and in Jimmy Hayes' short and rough young life, he recognized a fatal wound when he saw one.

"Noooo!" Jimmy cried. He dropped to his knees, and was shocked to see Englehorn's eyes open.

What…what are you _doing_ here, boy?" Englehorn asked in a very soft voice. "I gave you an order to abandon ship!"

"I came back to help you!" Jimmy said.

"That's nice," Englehorn said. "That's…damn, it hurts…!"

Then he grabbed the back of Jimmy's head with surprising strength.

"Get _off_ the ship!" Englehorn said, his voice like his arm surprisingly strong. "And find _Denham_. Tell him I put _him_ in charge until you find _Savage_!"

"_**Denham**_??" Jimmy couldn't believe his ears!

"Yes, Denham!" Englehorn said. His voice was now fading. "He…he…he's been in jungles and wilderness more than any of us here. He may come across as a…as a blowhard…but he knows how to…heh heh…survive. Like a _cockroach_, that one is!"

Englehorn coughed up blood, then, very very softly he said:

"Elsa, I'm home."

Then he smiled and breathed his last.

* * *

Jimmy, coughing, ran out of the pilot's cabin and stumbled down the steps. One of the lifeboats was already well away. Not surprisingly, it was the one with Helstrom, O'Hara, and Hanks in it.

"Come on boy, hurry up!" Reynolds yelled. Jimmy jumped into the water and swam rapidly to the lifeboat. Reynolds and Harker pulled him in.

"The Captain?" Reynolds asked.

Jimmy wasn't able to answer, except to simply shake his head.

No one noticed the long dark shadow that traveled underneath their lifeboat. Not until it surfaced next to the other lifeboat.

* * *

Sitter waited as a crewman opened the hatch, then he followed the crewman out. Behind him came two more crewmen.

Sitter stood at the rail and looked down at the two lifeboats.

"Where is your Captain?" he asked in German.

"I don't know," one man in the near boat answered. Most of the others looked at him blankly.

Sitter looked at the crewmen standing next to him. Two of them were bringing out and setting up a machine gun.

"Do any of you speak English?" Sitter asked.

One of the men nodded.

"Ask them the question again, in English," Sitter ordered. The man jabbered at the crew, and one of the crew in the far lifeboat, a young man little more than a boy, angrily answered.

"The boy says that their Captain is dead," the crewman said.

"Excellent," Sitter said. "We don't have room to transport all of these men back to New Prussia. Shoot all of the men in the near boat. We'll take the men in the other boat with us."

"Sir," the crewman who spoke English said. "One of the men in that boat speaks German. Shouldn't we…?"

"We have _you_, crewman," Sitter said. "So we don't _need_ him. Follow my orders."

The machine gun fired, and men screamed.

* * *

Denham watched in stunned disbelief as explosions rocked the Venture, and she began to sink. Then, he watched in further horror as a submarine surfaced next to the two lifeboats, then a minute later the crew in the lead lifeboat was strafed with machine gun fire. Without thinking, Denham grabbed a floating piece of wreckage and started to kick for shore. He had to get to shore and find Doc and the others, tell them what happened!

But then he felt a strong current pull him out away from shore, and from the sinking Venture. And underneath him, unnoticed, a giant shark that paleontologists would have identified as a Megaladon passed underneath him on her way to the providential bloody feast before her.

* * *

Minutes before, Long Tom sat in the Rumbler and listened in stunned disbelief to Englehorn's voice.

"I hope I am doing this right," the Captain of the Venture said. "I've weighed down the transmission button with my boots, because I really can't stop to talk. I have to steer, and steer fast.

"We're _going _to sink. We've been targeted by a U-boat, a U-_cruiser_ in fact! I am trying to steer us away to buy time for my crew, but it is useless.

"It looks like you will have to find another ride home, Doctor Savage. Please rescue my crew if at all possible. They're good men. Most of them anyway."

Then, there was the sound of an explosion, and the transmission ended. Long Tom suspected that the boot Englehorn used to weigh down the transmit button had fallen off the button.

Long Tom climbed out of the Rumber only to hear a second, more distant explosion.

"What was _that_?" Ann Darrow asked. Jack Driscoll was standing next to her looking at her like a pathetic puppy while gently stroking her face. Long Tom didn't understand why _**any**_ man would want to weigh himself down with a dame, even one as capable as Pat Savage or Ann Darrow.

"That was the Venture," Long Tom said grimly. "Apparently these Jerrys didn't just bring their tri-planes with them."

* * *

Denham tried to let himself go with the current, then kick his way with it and then back to shore, but he couldn't make headway, and eventually he was exhausted.

He fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, he was stunned to find himself floating among rocks close to a rocky shore. The back of his neck hurt from sunburn, and his forearms were bright red. Denham released the wreckage he was clinging to and staggered to shore. He continued inland towards the forest. Beyond the forest was a sharp cliff, but nothing looked familiar.

Then, Denham heard a snuffling noise to his left, and turned to see a fourteen foot land crocodile approaching him!

The reptile opened its jaws and ran towards Denham rapidly!

But before those terrible jaws could snap shut, the creature was pulled back. It squealed, but in the next moment two great hands took the creature's jaws and ripped them sideways in opposite directions. Then, the upper jaw was pushed down into the crocodile's cranium.

Denham was stunned. Before him stood a Kong, but not _King_ Kong! This one was smaller, perhaps one fourth the size of King Kong, with white instead of black hair, although the skin was as dark as any gorilla's. The white gorilla, perhaps twelve feet tall standing on his knuckles, looked at Denham with open curiosity and no evident hostility. Denham started to call him _Little _Kong in his mind, although "Little" Kong was still quite large and powerful looking.

"_Hi_ there, little fella," Denham said, hoping not to anger the creature.

"Hold it right _there_!" a voice yelled out. A _woman's_ voice.

Denham turned and saw one of the loveliest women he had ever seen, and that was saying something after having been on a voyage with Ann Darrow and Pat Savage! Her dark hair fell around her face in soft curls, and her skin was the color of creamed coffee. She was holding a musket, and it was pointed right at him!

"Who be you?" the woman demanded. "Be you a _slaver_?"

"No Ma'am," Denham said, raising his hands. "I'm just a lost traveler. May I ask who you are?"

"I be Hilda," the woman said. "Hilda MacKenzie, and this be Kiko."

Next (after a LONG while)

Chapter 18

Kiko and Hilda

**I am extremely ignorant about ships and submarines beyond the surface research I did for this story. If I made gross errors in my portrayal of the submarine attack and the Venture's response to it, I do apologize and hope they don't detract too much from this story. **

**There was **_**no**_** U-170 in World War I, and if there had been it would have been built well after 1917, the year I have identified as the Atlantean arrival date for Adolf Dietz and his crew. **

**Englehorn's pronouncement that Denham had more experience in the wild than the crew of the Venture may sound surprising, but usually the capture and the transport of wild animals were done **_**separately**_**. While there was an implication in Jackson's film that Englehorn and his crew sometimes captured the animals they transported, for the purposes of this story I consider it more the exception than the rule. **

**Regarding my version of Carl Denham; while I of course visualize Jack Black, if you haven't guessed I have also been importing some of the traits of the more sympathetic Robert Armstrong version. Also, Denham was in fact based on Kong's creator, Merian C. Cooper, a remarkable man who really did fly in World War I and who really did film in exotic places around the world. I find it interesting that in Cooper's own story Denham hardly comes across as flawless. And yes, I am aware of Denham's misquoting of Shakespeare.**

**Well, thanks for reading. Have a good spring, everyone. **


	18. Chapter 18 The New Queen of the Cannibal

**Well, I'm back, but probably only for a little bit. I am working on a major (hopefully publishable) research study and I am in the middle of the busiest time of the school year at work, and we are still settling into a new house. But, I got the hankerin' for some writin' so, here I am. **

**I have changed the title of this chapter from "Kiko and Hilda" to the title below. When I finally got around to planning this chapter in more detail, I decided to focus more on the people I left in the City of the Dead. Carl's, Kiko's, and Hilda's time will come!**

**Oh, and a tip of the hat to filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and Troublemaker Films for a reason that should be obvious to some in the first pulpy sentence!**

Chapter 18

The New Queen of the Cannibals

Jack Driscoll had mentally decided to rename "Skull Island" "Planet Terror", but by _whatever_ name he hated the place with a passion that was dwarfed _only_ by the passion of his love for Ann Darrow!

One moment he felt on top of two worlds. Pretty Ann Darrow was safe in his arms, and they were about to leave the accursed place for good.

The next moment, they heard two explosions, and Long Tom Roberts, his expression even grimmer than usual, announced that the Venture had been struck by torpedoes from a German U-boat. T'maru and Johnny had left to find and rescue any survivors on the shore. Most of the men on that ship had become Driscoll's close friends, and he grieved for them. He also grieved for that repentant rogue, Carl Denham.

From momentary joy to crushing grief, it was business as usual for Planet Terror.

Now, Driscoll was holding a machine pistol and standing guard in front of the Rumbler. Sweat rolled down his face and stung his eyes. The heat was oppressive, but the heavily oxygenated air felt clean in his lungs. Behind him and standing to his right, Pat Savage stood with a machine pistol guarding the right side of the vehicle. Driscoll had no difficulty with the idea of Pat Savage, beautiful girl though she was, joining him on guard duty. He had seen her in action, and he suspected that, among other things, she may have been a match for him in sheer physical strength.

Driscoll had a harder time with the idea of his sweet little Ann standing guard behind him and to his left. He looked back and over his left shoulder. Ann stood resolutely, holding her Wakandan sonic spear upright in her right hand, her blue eyes watching the savage warriors fifty yards or so in front of her.

"Hey, loverboy!" Pat Savage yelled. "Eyes _front_! You do your job, Ann will do hers. If the bad guys sneak up on _you_, you won't be able to do _her_ any good.

"Weren't you in the army once?"

Driscoll felt his face turn red as he turned to look forward. None of the native men in front of him had come any closer, as far as he could tell. The native men, for their part, stared back, their faces expressionless.

"I was in ROTC at SUNY, and I did a stint in the National Guard," Driscoll said.

"So you did guard duty?" Pat asked.

"Yeah, I did guard duty," Driscoll answered.

"And weren't you supposed to trust the other men in your unit to do their jobs while you did yours?" Pat asked.

"Well yeah, but Ann…" Driscoll started to say.

"_Ann_ is up to the job," Pat said. "_Doc_ says so, and you have _no_ idea how hard it is for my cousin to say that about _any_ woman, except maybe for Dr. Saint John."

Driscoll felt himself turning red again.

"I'm sorry, Ann, if I implied that I doubt your ability," he said.

"Apology _accepted,_ Jack," Ann said. "And for what it's worth, I love you too."

Hearing those words, Driscoll thought, were almost worth his return to Planet Terror.

Almost.

Suddenly, Driscoll heard the hatch on the top of the Rumbler open, and Doc Savage's friend Renny dropped to the ground beside him. Driscoll felt like a pygmy next to the huge engineer, who was 6 foot 8 inches tall.

Renny looked almost happy, but Driscoll had heard Long Tom say that the happier the big engineer looked, the more miserable he actually was.

"Mr. Driscoll," Renny rumbled. "We could use your help."

"Help to do what?" Driscoll asked.

"We're going to build a bridge," Renny said. ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lieutenant Jared Wolfgang Vogt stared at the bronze giant and his ape like companion. They in turn stared back at him. He wasn't sure which frightened him the most, the furious expression on the face of the ape man, or the emotionless expression on the metallic face of the bronze man.

The two men stared at him. A third man, the slim handsome man with clever, darting eyes, was somewhere behind him. It was the third man who spoke first.

"You speak German with a Liverpool accent," the slim handsome man's voice said from behind him. It took a couple of seconds for Vogt to realize that the man had spoken in English.

"I am Lieutenant Jared Wolfgang Vogt of the Imperial Air Force of New Prussia," he said in German in as calm a voice as he could muster.

"Still hear the Liverpool accent," the slim handsome man said as he moved around from behind Vogt. The slim man looked at the bronze giant. The bronze giant looked like one of the savage natives from the north and east, but he had introduced himself as a Doctor. Appropriately enough, a Doctor _Savage_!

Doctor Savage looked at Vogt calmly.

"I concur," he said in English. Then in German he said to Vogt. "You must have been just a boy when you were a passenger on the _Hellenic_."

Vogt stared at Doctor Savage in disbelief. Was there _anything_ these men didn't know?

* * *

Ham felt a coldness in his stomach even as he turned and looked at Monk. The ape-like chemist's eyes were wide.

Vogt's reaction to Doc's statement had been easy for the lawyer to read. Obviously, as a boy, their prisoner had been a passenger on the Hellenic, and equally obviously, at the time he was a passenger on that ship, his name would _not_ have been _Vogt_!

The _RMS Hellenic_! The nearly forgotten sister ship to the Olympic and Titanic! She had vanished and been presumed lost. The prevailing theory concerning what had happened to the Hellenic had been that she was sunk in a U-boat attack. Instead, the Hellenic had obviously gone through a misty portal to end up in this alternate world. Probably, a pursuing U-boat had followed her here.

Monk nodded at Ham. The fate of the Hellenic was think tank business that went back to a time before they met Doc. And even though Doc had been made a civilian member of Brigadier General Theodore Marley Brook's think tank, at no time had the brilliant bronze teenager been cleared to know what was hidden in three safes in the Hellenic.

Now Ham had to make a decision. Doc had a high level security clearance with the US government, but only on an "as needed" basis. Ham had taken a secrecy oath about the business of the think tank after he had retired from military life. They all had. Ham did not really have the clearance to tell Doc what he knew.

But, Doc was _Doc_! He was their _leader_, and they were literally on another world. Doc's ability to assess their situation exceeded that of everyone else on their team, except perhaps for T'maru.

Ham made a decision.

"Doc, I need to talk to you before we continue with this interrogation," Ham said in the ancient Mayan tongue they all knew. Vogt didn't need to hear this conversation.

Doc's face remained expressionless. Monk, on the other hand, nodded at Ham to signal his approval of the lawyer's decision.

"Very well, Ham," Doc said in the same Mayan tongue. "Monk, can you continue to keep an eye on our guest? Maybe ask him some more questions?"

"Yes, Doc," Monk answered in Mayan.

Ham and Doc moved to the small portable laboratory in the back of the Rumbler. Ham closed the metal door behind him.

"Doc," Ham said. "How did you know that Vogt was a passenger on the Hellenic?"

"It was a guess," Doc said. "I knew the U-170 had been sent after the Hellenic."

"U-_170_?" Ham exclaimed. "Doc, there _was_ no U-170! The highest number given to a cruiser class U-boat was 157!"

"The U-170 was a top secret design, decades ahead of its time," Doc replied. "It was invented by one of your counterparts in the German think tank, Adolf Dietz. Dietz also served as captain of the U-170, and it vanished in pursuit of the Hellenic. Dietz's loss was a great blow to the Germans."

Ham felt the coldness in his chest return threefold. Deitz was Germany's top engineering genius! He was rumored to have the combined brilliance of Renny, Long Tom, and William "Heart" Hawkins, the lost mechanical engineer from the think tank!

Ham felt an acute pang of grief as he remembered his friend, Heart Hawkins, who had been on the Hellenic when she vanished! He was accompanying blueprints that had been hidden in three sealed safes.

If Dietz had gotten a hold of those blueprints, depicting devices designed by the combined genius of Renny, Long Tom, Heart, and Monk…! Furthermore, if he'd gotten a hold of Heart_ himself_…!

Horror and excitement buzzed in Ham's mind. Dietz had a reputation for cruelty and using slave labor from captured prisoners of war. The brilliant mind of Heart Hawkins would have been an even bigger prize to Dietz than the blueprints themselves!

Could their friend Heart be _alive_, here on this hellish world???

"Doc, there were blueprints on the Hellenic," Ham said. "Blueprints of the devices we had designed and field tested with select French and British squads. One of our engineers was sent to guard and help explain those plans to the brass back home."

"William Hawkins, I presume?" Doc said.

"How did you _know_ that?" Ham asked. "Did someone tell you? Did one of the _others_…?"

"Ham, I _didn't_ know," Doc said. "No one told me anything about Sergeant William Hawkins, I _guessed_. And before you go on, let's see if I can guess the rest of it. That way, you can say that you kept your oath of secrecy."

"It doesn't quite work that way, Doc," Ham said. "I've already said too…"

Doc shook his head.

"Ham, we don't have time to waste on this," Doc said. "I don't want Monk getting impatient with the prisoner. The loss of the Venture has everyone on edge, and we really need to be moving forward. Besides which, it should be evident to you that I have had access to classified information that _you_ didn't know.

"So let me tell you what I've already guessed."

Ham nodded. As usual, Doc was right.

* * *

Johnny's ability to navigate over a variety of hostile terrain was legendary among those who knew him. Next to T'maru, however, Johnny felt like a tortoise chasing a gazelle.

Johnny was still climbing down the sheer rock cliff when he heard T'maru call out.

"Down here, Johnny!" T'maru called. "I have found one of the crew.

"Or _half_ of him at any rate."

Johnny scrambled down the last part of the cliff face, twice almost slipping on the sea slicked rocks from the high tide. Finally, the freakishly tall and thin archeologist and paleontologist dropped to the ledge where his Wakandan blood brother was crouching.

Johnny looked down at what T'maru was looking at, and immediately wished he hadn't. It was the upper third of the body of the Venture's crane operator. His name had been Helstrom, as Johnny recalled. The body had been savaged by some large ocean going predator, judging by the wounds Johnny suspected a huge shark. However, the part of the body that was left, including the shattered head, was riddled with bullet holes.

"Clearly, there were those who survived the sinking of the Venture," Johnny said. He didn't even think about using his long word affectation at a time like this.

"Indeed," T'maru said. "And it is clear that the crew of the U-boat came to the conclusion that there were too many survivors."

"The question is," Johnny said. "Did the U-boat crew leave _any _survivors at all?"

"If they did," T'maru said. "I suspect that they took the survivors with them."

"If so," Johnny said. "_This _poor fellow may have been one of the lucky ones."

* * *

Carl Denham was back floating in the ocean. Before him, the Venture was sinking. There were two life boats, and Denham opened his mouth to yell at them when the huge U-boat suddenly surfaced between the life boats and the shore.

_I've seen this before,_ Denham thought.

Denham watched in horror as the crew of the submarine came out of the hatch with a huge machine gun and fired at one of the lifeboats, shooting it and the crewmen on it to pieces. Then the machine gun turned towards the other lifeboat. The current was sweeping him away, and try as he did Denham could not swim against it.

But even as the sinking Venture, the surviving lifeboat, and the U-boat receded in the distance, Denham saw the crew in the other lifeboat row themselves to the sub. Then, a mist came and obscured Denham's view, and he was suddenly out of the water and dry, standing on rocky ground, enshrouded in mist.

"Hello, Carl," a familiar voice said.

Denham turned around and saw Englehorn standing behind him and to his right. There was a horrible wound in his stomach.

"I thought they'd all died," Carl said. "I thought the U-boat crew killed them all."

"Just the one lifeboat," Englehorn said. "The U-boat took the other one. You saw that, you are the only one who did."

"Where?" Denham asked. "Where did they take them?"

"How would I know?" Englehorn asked.

"Are you with them?" Denham asked.

Englehorn laughed.

"I did what any good captain would do, Mr. Denham," Englehorn said. "I went down with my ship."

"I'm sorry," Denham said.

"It is what it is, Carl," Englehorn replied with a shrug. "I'm done. The question now is, what are _you_ going to do?"

"I have no idea," Denham said. "Am_ I_ even still alive?"

"This is your dream, Carl," Englehorn replied. "Only the living dream, so far as I know."

"Since you're dead, I guess you would know," Denham said. "So, why am I dreaming this?"

"You are the only free member of the Venture's crew left, Carl," Englehorn said. "You are the only one who knows that some of the crew are still alive. Until someone else knows, someone like Savage, you are their only hope."

'I don't know where they went," Denham protested. "Hell, I don't even know where _I_ am!"

Behind Englehorn, a woman's hand reached out of the mist. Englehorn smiled, turned and took it and started to walk into the mist. Before he was completely obscured by it, however, he turned and looked back at Denham.

"Why don't you open your eyes and find out?" Englehorn asked.

So Denham did.

* * *

Laloog was confused. The horrible vengeance she anticipated the great Kong inflicting upon the pale skinned interlopers had not taken place. Worse, the great Kong had brought _more_ pale skins, including the yellow haired and blue eyed bride she, Laloog, had provided for him!

And now, that same bride was standing beside the pale skin's moving dwelling, holding a spear of some sort. Laloog could feel the young woman's steely gaze locked upon her.

Strangest of all, two of the men the great Kong had brought back with him were not pale skins, although they were dressed like pale skins. One man's skin was darker than her own, the other had the bronze skin and look of the people who lived far to the northeast. The pale skins actually seemed to defer to these two newcomers.

It was all very confusing.

Laloog first saw the pale skins more than 12 years ago. The pale skins then had come and killed several of her men, and taken several of her young women and children captive. However, her own men had killed one of the pale skins during the raid and, as they always did, smoked his meat over an open flame. When the other pale skins had seen that, they killed the women and children that they had taken and left their corpses on the shore. Then they had left.

The next time the pale skins came, they brought the woman with yellow hair and sky colored eyes with them.

To please the great Kong, who did not protect them the last time the pale skins had come, Laloog had her men take the yellow haired woman and give her to Kong. The other pale skins returned to get her back, and when they did bring her back, the great Kong pursued them into the city itself. Great and terrible was his wrath!

Then, the impossible happened! The pale skins made the great Kong go to sleep, and then took him away on their great canoe. She had thought that the great Kong was lost, and she was terrified when the pale skins returned yet again.

But then, _today_, the great Kong himself had returned!

Laloog thought that the great Kong had escaped from the pale skins. That he had returned home to destroy the pale skins who dared to desecrate the city of those who worshiped him.

But then, the pale skins cheered when they heard the great Kong's victory roar. Then, the great Kong arrived at the city gate with the yellow haired woman and three men who the pale skinned intruders greeted as friends!

It was all very confusing.

The laws of Laloog's people were clear. When the great Kong rejected a bride, she was unworthy of life. Therefore, the yellow haired woman must die. And yet, two of her warriors (as if they were _really_ worthy of that title) claimed to have seen the yellow haired woman ride on the great Kong's back. They also claimed that the woman and the great Kong had bid each other farewell as if they were companions.

It was all very confusing.

Laloog didn't like to be confused. It made her angry. Already, she noticed the young warriors (as if they were _really_ worthy of that title) stop looking to her and start looking to each other. She was losing her grip.

That was unacceptable. The _confusion_ was unacceptable.

And in the end, the law was clear. It was the law that made Laloog the high priestess. Therefore, for Laloog to remain in power, the law _had_ to be followed.

Suddenly, the confusion was gone, replaced by Laloog's knowledge of the law.

The yellow haired woman's fate was clear. The great Kong had rejected her. The law therefore demanded that she must die!

* * *

Monk, with difficulty, carried one of the rusted steel cages that the Venture had left on shore from their previous trip. Renny was using them to construct a bridge that would allow the Rumbler to cross the dry moat.

Over the past day and night, over 36 hours, Monk had worked with Long Tom, Doc, and T'maru to modify the welding equipment and formulas to the higher oxygen atmosphere. The higher oxygen made the welders burn harder and faster, which not only created safety concerns, but it had the potential to damage the equipment and to weaken the metal around the weld. Monk had been extremely impressed with T'maru's contributions once he and Johnny had come back from their futile search for survivors from the Venture. Working with T'maru was like working with another Doc!

Renny and T'maru were actually doing most of the welding. As Monk carried the cage through the great door and to the dry moat, he saw Renny with the welder's mask on, working on a section of his bridge. Renny's shirt was off, and sweat was pouring off of his torso. Except for Monk himself, who was also shirtless at the moment, Renny had the hairiest body. There was no comparison between the engineer and the chemist, however. Monk's shirtless body greatly reinforced his ape-like qualities.

Behind Monk, Johnny also carried a cage, incredibly one the same size as the one Monk carried. Although the extremely gaunt archeologist and paleontologist looked weak and fragile, his wiry frame actually contained strength comparable to Monk's and Renny's. Johnny, however, as was his custom, kept his shirt one. It was soaked with sweat.

Monk joined Jack Driscoll in scouring one of the cages. The Venture had left the cages on shore barely a month before, but the salt water and high oxygen atmosphere had accelerated the rusting process. The cages looked as if they had been left on shore for about a year.

Johnny, after dropping off his cage, turned around and started to walk back into the city.

"Where are you goin', Johnny?" Monk asked.

"To obtain an additional zoological containment device," Johnny said.

"Renny and T'maru said that we have enough cages," Driscoll said without looking up from his work on the cage. "Why don't you grab some sand paper and join us?"

"Ah, I was unaware of the adequacy of our totality of zoological containment devices," Johnny said as he took a piece of sand paper and started to work on the same cage alongside Driscoll and Monk.

Monk liked Driscoll. He fit right in among them. He pulled his weight without complaint and even though he was quiet and soft spoken, he did not seem to be overwhelmed by their situation.

"You know, Driscoll," Monk said. "If you want to go check on your lady friend, Johnny and I will be OK here."

Driscoll shook his head.

"Ann will be fine," Driscoll said. "Pat and Long Tom are on guard duty with her, and I have seen them both in action.

"Besides, I think my checking on Ann is getting on her nerves."

Monk nodded.

"I noticed," the burly, ape-like chemist said. "But I have also noticed the way that old woman is looking at her. She looks like trouble."

"She sure is," Driscoll said. "She was the one who seemed to be in charge of Ann's sacrifice to Kong. If they tried to do that to Ann again, however, I think they'd get a nasty surprise from Kong himself."

"I hear you, brother," Monk said. However, Monk also thought about Crystal Evans. He still could not bring himself to forgive the big gorilla for her death, even after hearing the stories of how he had saved the lives of Doc, Renny, T'maru, and Ann. Monk wasn't sure what he would do if he found himself face to face with Kong again.

* * *

Ann Darrow noticed the old woman glaring at her, so she glared at the old woman right back. The old woman was moving around the ring of people almost surrounding the Rumbler, muttering to them while pointing emphatically at Ann. The warriors, however, made no hostile move against them, even when Jack and most of the other men started to go to shore to collect empty cages. It seemed like several months had passed since the remaining crew of the Venture had emptied the large hold of cages to make room for a sleeping Kong. However, that was barely more than a month ago! It was hard to believe that she was back on "Skull Island", but this time with no ship off shore.

Ann watched as some of the warriors gathered around the old woman. They seemed to be listening to her, and whatever she was saying, Ann doubted it was anything good. It especially made Ann uneasy the way that the men were looking at her. She had seen that look before.

* * *

Laloog had had to revise her original plan to uphold the law. The story had gotten out about the tender farewell between the Great Kong and the yellow haired woman. Everyone was afraid of what the Great Kong would do if they harmed her. And perhaps, just _perhaps_, Laloog thought, they were right to be worried.

But the law was still what made Laloog High Priestess, so the law had to be upheld. And it didn't take Laloog long to figure out another way to uphold the law.

"The Great Kong did not want to leave the yellow hair," Laloog told her people. "He only left her because He thought that the yellow hair wanted to be back with her people. But look at her, look at the way she parted with the Great Kong. She wishes to be back with Him. We will prove that she wants to be back with Him by offering her to the Great Kong again! We will make them both happy, and the Great Kong, who obviously defeated the pale skins, will shower His blessings upon us."

"What about the pale skins?" the nervous warriors (as if they were _really_ worthy of that title) asked.

"We kill them," Laloog said simply. "Except perhaps for the bronze skinned woman. Perhaps the Great Kong will accept her as a bride as well."

One of the young warriors made a face and started to bring his hand up defensively between his legs.

"The bronze skinned woman is as fierce a warrior as the rest of them," he said. "If we kill the others, we will have to kill her as well."

"Then that is how it will be," Laloog said sagely. Many of the people were clearly uneasy about Laloog's plan to observe the law, but enough of the warriors agreed with her, and the others were too afraid of her to really put up any resistance (after all, she had been the High Priestess longer than most of them had been alive). Her warriors (as if they were _really_ worthy of that title) were clearly worried about the pale skin's weapons, but Laloog pointed out that there were not nearly as many of them as before, and that this time the weapons did not appear to be lethal.

Laloog felt the yellow haired woman's glare upon her. There was something different about this woman. The first time she had been taken from their great canoe, the warriors had commented on the yellow hair's surprising strength. Now the woman was holding some kind of spear.

But that didn't make the woman a warrior, not like the bronze skinned woman apparently was.

And so the time came when Laloog's warriors (as if they were _really_ worthy of that title) were interspersed among the crowd surrounding the moving dwelling. At her signal, they would attack the bronze skinned woman and the little pale man standing guard, and when the yellow hair was distracted, they would take her!

* * *

Ann Darrow didn't think it was possible for the old woman to look at her any harder than she had before, and yet, somehow, she did. The old woman's gaze seemed to look straight through her, and Ann felt a chill. However, Ann also felt a cold determination arise within her. The last time she had felt that icy resolve, a pilot had died by her hand.

Suddenly, Ann heard Pat Savage yell.

"_**Doc**_! _**We need you**_!"

Despite herself, Ann turned to look towards Pat. Pat was ducking a thrown spear, which then clanged against the front of the Rumbler. The next second, with lightning speed, Doc Savage was at her side, and his machine pistol barked! One of the warriors, almost certainly the one who had thrown the spear at Pat, fell flat on his back.

"Ann, _look __**out**_!" another voice cried. It took the briefest of seconds for Ann to recognize the voice as belonging to Long Tom Roberts.

Ann swiftly turned to see two of the warriors running rapidly towards her. They were almost upon her!

But, as everything seemed to slow down around her, an earlier thought returned:

_Others will try to rescue me as long as I __**need**__ rescuing. I can't make people decide __**not**__ to rescue me. But, I can __**stop**__ people from rescuing me…_

…_if __**I am able to rescue myself!**_

Even as she saw the man to her right fall to the mercy bullets from either Doc's or Pat's machine pistol, Ann brought her sonic spear, loaded with reactive vibranium and a steel pellet, up to her lips…

…and blew!

* * *

The bronze skinned man moved far more quickly than Laloog had ever seen any man move before. He was out of the moving dwelling and beside the bronze skinned woman before Laloog was even aware of his added presence. His weapon made a loud rattling sound, and the warrior that had thrown the spear at the woman fell. The bronze skinned woman immediately turned and fired at one of the men Laloog had sent to take the yellow haired woman in the confusion. He fell, and simultaneously the other man fell as well as the pale man shot him.

Then, suddenly, Laloog was engulfed in thunder! It was as if the Great Kong himself was under the ground beneath her feet pushing up! The ground shattered and she was thrown back, heels over head. The back of Laloog's head struck the ground, and her breath was driven from her body. Laloog was dimly aware of people screaming around her as they ran away. She tried to rise herself, but she couldn't get her breath back, and dust was in her eyes.

Then, a strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her easily to her feet.

At least _one_ of her so-called warriors (as if they were _really_ worthy of that title), Laloog thought, had the base courage to attend to the needs of his High Priestess.

Then she saw the pale, feminine hand that held her wrist in an iron grip, and she looked up into fierce, sky blue eyes!

* * *

As Ann walked to the old woman, she held the spear to her lips. Even though she had not reloaded it with another steel pellet, it was still a deadly weapon. More to the point, the people she was pointing it at didn't know that she needed to reload to get the same explosive effect.

As the warriors and other people fled screaming in front of her, Ann saw the old woman trying to struggle to her feet. She grabbed the woman's right wrist with her left hand and pulled her to her feet. The old woman felt wiry and strong, but she was just bone and gristle, hardly weighing anything, and Ann easily pulled her to her feet.

The old woman was clearly shocked to see Ann staring her in the face. Ann felt herself smile mirthlessly.

"So," Ann growled. "You want to sacrifice me back to Kong, do you?

"Fine! Let's _**do**_ it! Let's _see_ what my good friend Kong thinks when he sees you hogtying and dangling me over the moat! It will be _fun_!!"

So saying, Ann started to drag the old woman towards the very steps that, a little more than a month ago, as a frightened young woman from New York,_ she_ had been forced to climb.

* * *

Jack Driscoll was sanding rust from the cage when T'maru stopped welding and walked over and put his hand on Driscoll's shoulder.

Right at that moment, Driscoll heard gunfire and a voice cry out:

"Ann, _look out_!"

Like a flash, Driscoll was on his feet and running towards the huge open door in the great wall of the city of the dead. Running beside him, then, it must be said, ahead of him, were T'maru and Johnny. Still, Driscoll and Monk ran neck and neck through the door in the great wall of the city of the dead. As Driscoll was running, he heard another voice, this one belonging to Doc Savage himself, cry out:

"Miss Darrow, what are you _doing_?"

Then he heard a terrific explosion, followed by screams of terror.

Horrible visions came into Driscoll's head as the screams faded away into silence. _What_ had happened to his sweet little Ann?

Driscoll almost ran into T'maru and Johnny, who were looking up and gaping in apparent shock. Driscoll hardly noticed Pat Savage walking towards them, also looking up. Driscoll followed their gaze, and also gaped in astonishment at what he saw.

Ann, sweet little Ann Darrow, had dragged the old woman almost halfway up the stairs to the top of the great wall with one hand, while using her sonic spear as a walking stick with the other. What seemed to be the entire population of the city of the dead was following them! The people all seemed to be in terrified awe of Ann Darrow, and when she looked back at them, they would stop and even take a step or two back down the stairs!

"Now _that_," said Pat Savage. "Is _my_ kind of dame!"

* * *

Ann Darrow reached the top of the wall easily. The old woman seemed to be in such shock she hardly struggled at all. Ann turned and looked back at the old woman, then the crowd of people who cowered about twenty steps down.

"_**So, here we are**_!" she called. "_**Let's get going. Light the fires, beat the drums, call the name of KONG**_!"

Nobody moved. Ann released the old woman, who rubbed her wrist and backed away. Ann walked over to the frame that she had been tied to before.

"_**What's wrong with all of you**_?" she taunted. "_**Here I am**_! _**Tie me up**_!_** Let's get this show on the road**_!"

So saying, Ann actually laid her spear down and put her hands up to the frame where they had been tied before.

* * *

"What is she _**doing**_?" Driscoll asked in horror.

"She's calling their bluff," said T'maru. "She has figured out the source of the old woman's power, and broken it. She's _**brilliant**_!"

* * *

Laloog watched the yellow haired woman in horror. She heard the mutterings of the people below her. They knew, and so did she, that the yellow haired woman was absolutely confident in her bond with the Great Kong. She was taunting them, daring them to contest His will!

The message was clear. You don't want Kong to see you offering me to Him again!

Suddenly, rough hands grabbed Laloog from behind.

"_**No**_!" she cried. "You don't want to hurt me! Only _I_ can protect you from the wrath of the Great Kong! Only_ I_ can guarantee His protection!"

But her words were empty. They knew it, and so did she. There was only one woman with that kind of influence over the Great Kong, and it wasn't Laloog!

* * *

Ann saw the warriors come up and take hold of the old woman. She thought that their intention was to take her away, take her to safety. To get her away from the crazy white woman.

She thought that right until they threw the old woman into the dry moat. The distant thud that signaled her landing was faint, sickening, and final.

Then, as Ann stood in stunned horror, the people of the city averted their gazes so that they could watch her from the corner of their eyes. Then, in small groups, they slowly backed away down the steps. Eventually, they were all gone, and Ann stood alone on the great wall.

* * *

"Mr. Driscoll," T'maru said.

Driscoll didn't hear. He continued to look at the distant, high figure of Ann Darrow, standing alone on the wall.

"_Mr. Driscoll_," T'maru repeated insistently.

Driscoll started and looked at T'maru.

"Miss Darrow needs you," T'maru said.

"She needs _me_?" Driscoll repeated in a confused tone.

"Yes, Mr. Driscoll," T'maru said. "She has just done a remarkable thing by herself. Now she needs the person who cares the most about her, and who she cares the most about, to go to her. To comfort her."

"That's _you_, you big dummy," Pat said. "Get outta here!"

And with that, Driscoll ran up the stairs two at a time. He wasn't even breathing hard when he reached the top of the wall. Ann was standing and looking down into the moat. She was holding her sonic spear in her right hand.

"Ann?" Driscoll called softly.

Ann turned towards him, and Driscoll saw that her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Jack?" she called back, just as softly.

Then, suddenly, Ann was in his arms. He never did know which of them had run to the other.

And in the end, it never mattered to him.

* * *

Carl Denham opened his eyes, and shut them again. The bright light hurt his eyes, and his eyes were already inside a hurting head.

"Close the door," a voice said.

There was the sound of a closing door, and the light on the other side of Denham's closed eyes dimmed.

Slowly, cautiously, he opened them. He was in an octagonal room, made from timber. It was huge. He looked around, and saw a dark haired woman with skin the color of creamed coffee.

"Hilda?" he asked.

"Me daughter," the woman said. The woman was wearing a simple dress and sandals laced up to her calf. "I be Delores MacKenzie."

"Where am I?" Denham asked.

"Not where you were," Delores MacKenzie answered. "You be on a ship, me husband's ship, and he will have very hard questions for you, Mr. Denham."

Next

Two Predators, No Prey


	19. Chapter 19 Two Predators, No Prey

**This chapter will be a little different. It is told entirely from the point of view of two characters, only one of whom will survive at the end. **

Chapter 19

Two Predators, No Prey

Hoffman carefully followed the trail of General Scar. Even with the tank, they were not able to keep pace with the wily old kong while he was on the move. However, a kong had to stop and eat, and eat a lot for hours at a time, so Hoffman knew that he would eventually make up ground.

Hoffman followed General Scar's trail to the city of the dead, also known with great distaste in New Prussia as the city of the degenerate cannibals. Hoffman hid among the foliage and watched the activity in the doorway of the great wall of the city of the dead. Hoffman could see that General Scar's former companions were constructing a bridge out of metal cages. He wondered about their connection with Josef Englehorn. It was too bad that Englehorn was reported to be dead. Hoffman had liked the man when they served together in Germany's Navy. However, Kaiser Dietz had an irrational hatred for Englehorn, and even Hoffman had never really found out what that was all about.

Hoffman watched long enough to establish that all of the people he had seen with General Scar were in the city of the dead. When he moved to another vantage point, he was startled to see a tank much like the one he and Horst were traveling in, but larger and apparently of a more advanced design. The tank had several sections, like a train, or more accurately a caterpillar.

Interesting.

Also interesting was the evidence of _multiple_ kong trails leading to the city of the dead, most of them partially overgrown. Evidently, kong had been coming here for generations. That in itself was not surprising. Due to a peculiarity in kong reproductive biology, the kong, before their presumed extinction, had had a symbiotic relationship with most of the known human communities of Atlantis. Infant kong were tiny, not even as large as human infants at birth. Hoffman imagined that an infant kong traveling along the birth canal hardly even registered with the mother. Yet, somehow, the kong females seemed to know when they were giving birth, and they would catch their tiny infants in their great hands.

Human females, young women, were used as wet nurses. The infant kong were too small to nurse from their mothers, so the kong mothers would feed human females their milk, and the women in turn would nurse the infant kong. This took place for approximately the first year. Young kong grew rapidly, and after about a year they would become large enough to nurse from their own mothers. Kong silverbacks, their older black back sons, and adult females all acted to protect both the infants and their human caregivers from Atlantis' many predators.

Kong reproductive biology had been particularly fascinating to his late wife. Her fascination with kong, and her defense of them, was what got her killed in the end.

What was interesting about the evidence of kong trails here was that General Scar and his family had evidently gotten their wet nurses from the city of the dead. The degenerate nature of the human cannibals had so disgusted the New Prussians that they didn't even want the savages as thralls. That disgust had kept the New Prussians away and, it appeared, inadvertently protected the greatest and most dangerous kong of all from discovery!

Hoffman continued to carefully circle around in the foliage, watching for predators as he did so, viewing the doorway to the city of the dead from every angle he could. He watched for about an hour. The men who were building the bridge clearly knew what they were doing. These were clever people, and that would be of great concern to Kaiser Dietz.

After completing his reconnaissance of the doorway to the city of the dead, Hoffman melted back into the forest. He soon came upon a meadow, and in the meadow was the surviving tri-plane. Hoffman carefully approached the plane and looked into the cockpit. As he suspected, a large centipede was curled up in the cockpit. The hunter carefully backed away, the venomous stingers in the huge centipede's tail end were deadly. Still, Hoffman opened the hatch to the engine and cut the fuel line, just to be certain that the intruders could not use the airplane again.

As Hoffman quietly departed the meadow, even he did not notice the dark skinned man walk into the meadow and watch his departure.

Hoffman moved like a ghost, but he was no Black Panther of the Wakanda.

* * *

_Kong was aware that he was being followed almost immediately after their departure from the rock tower. His ears picked up the distant sound of the little apes' land craft following them. Concerned about his new friends, he double backed on his own path then turned at a 90 degree angle after leaving the yellow haired female. As carefully as he could, he picked his way through the forest, found a rock spire, and climbed about halfway up, so that he could see over most of the trees, but he himself was largely hidden from any creature looking up from the ground, especially a creature as small as a tufted ape. _

_The absolute size of Kong's eyes, not to mention the corresponding absolute size of his primary and associative visual cortexes, made his vision especially sharp. Even though the little ape he was observing was distant and small, he could still pick up enough detail to identify the tufted ape. _

_It was the one his kind called the Small Death. _

_Clearly, Kong was right to be concerned. _

* * *

Hoffman missed it the first time while he was following General Scar's trail, and he almost missed it a second time as he was making his way back to the tank and his friend Conrad Horst. General Scar had backtracked and left the trail he made about midway back, carefully trying to avoid making signs in the forest. But a giant, 25 foot gorilla, even one as crafty as General Scar, could not completely avoid making signs of his travels. Hoffman saw the wearing of bark made on a huge branch by four huge fingers, where General Scar had swung to avoid making tracks on the ground. Hoffman was probably the only man in New Prussia, or for that matter anywhere in Atlantis, who could have spotted this sign. Hoffman briefly considered following this new trail, but it was entirely possible that General Scar was watching him, and he didn't like his chances in a straight up confrontation against the giant gorilla.

He had to outsmart the kong, and that was difficult to do with _any_ kong. To outsmart General Scar would take an unprecedented effort from Hoffman.

In the meantime, let General Scar think that Hoffman had failed to spot his new trail. The more the great silverback underestimated his human opponent, the better Hoffman's chances were.

* * *

_Kong saw the Small Death stop where he had changed direction, then move on. Had the Small Death spotted signs of his change of direction? Kong wasn't certain, but he knew better than to underestimate the little ape who had killed several of his people, including two silverbacks, using only stealth and the very stick weapon he was now carrying. Kong felt reasonably confident in his ability to confound the little ape. After all, Kong had survived for nearly 200 years. He was old, but he wasn't feeble._

_Not yet. _

_Kong watched as the Small Death moved out of sight, then he carefully dropped off of the rocky spire from which he was watching the little ape. Kong remained as still as possible, until he heard the engine of the land craft start up again. Then he heard the land craft move slowly down the trail. Kong decided to chance moving away, along the direction he had already picked out. He realized that the Small Death could have had a companion start the land craft moving as a distraction. Indeed, the sound of the craft's engine was ideal for masking the movements of a little crested ape. Kong realized that the deadly little ape could even now be moving towards his position from any combination of south and east. _

_So Kong moved north, and he moved quickly, no longer bothering to mask the sounds of his movement. _

* * *

Hoffman cursed as he heard General Scar crashing rapidly through the undergrowth. He could tell that the crafty silverback was running north, and he wasn't going to catch him. Nevertheless, Hoffman tried, firing his high powered shotgun twice into the brush. However, he could tell that the huge kong was too far and moving too fast.

Hoffman carefully and unhurriedly reloaded his gun. It was unlikely that General Scar would double back after him now, but there were all sorts of dangers in Atlantis, and it was never, ever good to be unarmed.

After reloading, Hoffman turned south, walking rapidly to cut off Horst and the tank. He had met his friend and told him what he had seen in the city of the dead, then sent the tank down General Scar's most recent trail. But now, there was little point in continuing to have the tank move any closer to the city of the dead than they already were. The intruders would have heard the gunshots, and there was no need to further attract their attention with the tank, especially since they had one of their own.

Suddenly, Hoffman came upon a small clearing, and a very dangerous situation.

* * *

_When Kong heard the shots, he knew his hypothesis had been confirmed. The Small Death had indeed been using the noise from the land craft to mask his approach, and Kong had foiled him by running swiftly to the north. Although he was tempted, Kong did not veer towards the direction of the shots. The Small Death would have been well prepared for his arrival, and Kong had seen this little ape dispatch a silverback, his younger brother by father in fact. Kong had been too busy fighting his own battle with flying craft to assist his brother, and he had been shocked when the little ape blew a hole in his brother's neck, right where his carotid artery was. _

_Kong needed more than strength and speed with this one. He needed guile. _

_So Kong continued to run to the north. Kong had many homes in his territory. The rock tower was just one of them. There were other places, and hidden in those other places were other slings, with plentiful ammunition lying about. _

* * *

The small clearing was actually part of a trail, one probably made by General Scar years earlier. Standing in the middle of the clearing was an adult Ferrucutus (as named by his late wife), a horned dinosaur distinctive for the multiple horns not only along the frill, but on the nose. The animal reminded Hoffman of the rhinoceroses he hunted on the African veldt in his youth. Like rhinos, the Ferrucutus were temperamental and seemed to be visually weak, except when it came to movement. The animals were incredibly single minded. They ate and procreated, and that was about it.

Except that this one was part of a nesting couple. Hoffman never had learned to tell the difference between a male and a female because it didn't seem to make a difference. The animals appeared to mate for life, and when the female laid eggs, one of the pair would tend the eggs while the other went off to feed. A nesting Ferrucutus was as dangerous as anything in Atlantis.

The huge animal (the spiked frill was taller than an elephant) moved its head about, sniffing the air. It was agitated, probably because of Hoffman's presence.

Hoffman began to slowly back away. He had no quarrel with the great, stupid beast, and the animals were damned hard to kill.

Then, things got worse.

Two Venatosaurs were edging into the clearing. These predators, although not particularly large themselves, were still considerably larger than a man and hunted in large packs. They specialized in hunting the herds of huge Brontosaurs that were common on the lower end of the peninsula. They were probably not here to actually hunt the Ferrucutus, which was too aggressive and too well armored. They were probably more interested in the eggs and the embryos within.

But now, the pair had spotted Hoffman. Venatosaurs were intelligent, although not as intelligent as Loboraptors or even Vastatosaurs. They would rapidly come to the (false) conclusion that Hoffman was the easier prey. Hoffman swiftly and quietly aimed his high powered shotgun at the lead Venatosaur. When the animals screamed and rushed him, he pulled the trigger, blowing the lead predator almost in half. The other Venatosaur pulled back, clearly startled. Then it froze, and Hoffman had a bad idea he knew why. Hoffman turned and saw the Ferrucutus looking in his direction. Then, the huge dinosaur ran right at him.

Hoffman did not try to outrun the huge dinosaur, which could run at speeds as high as 40 kilometers per hour. Instead, he ran back and sideways. The animals were quick running in a straight line, but were terrible at making sudden turns. Hoffman was able to get out of the way of the creature's initial rush.

Meanwhile, the forest was now full of the sounds of chirping. Hoffman could hear the Ferrucutus' deep breathing, probably only 10 meters or so away. The chirpings were the food calls of the Venatosaurs. They were even now raiding the nest. Hoffman heard the huge Ferrucutus blunder around to turn back towards its nest. Hoffman waited another 10 minutes, staying very still. He could hear the huge dinosaur bellowing, and the distant but nearing bellowing of its mate. Eventually, he heard the fleeing Venatosaurs around him as the Ferrucutus' mate came to join in defense of the nest. Then, after the Ferrucutus stopped bellowing, and he stopped hearing the sounds of fleeing Venatoraurs, Hoffman slowly made his way back towards the rendezvous spot where Horst and the tank would be waiting for him, taking care to make a considerable detour around the Ferrucutus' clearing.

* * *

_Kong arrived at the closest of his many homes. It was on a steep slope pocked with ruins. His grandfather, his mother's father, told him the story of those ruins. How the little apes tried to enslave the kong by holding their children hostage, and the great war that resulted. Eventually, the cities of the little apes were destroyed, and the little ape survivors of the war were driven behind the great wall, where, ironically, they were forced to provide their females to be wet nurses to the infant kong. Kong's grandfather told him, those many, many years ago, of being raised within these ruins, of being held hostage by the little apes. _

_It was here that Kong had first taken the little, yellow haired ape. It was here where she had first performed for him. It was a good place because there were caverns to take shelter in, and a lot of food available to eat. Kong was very hungry, but he skipped eating. Instead, he looked for his sling. After finding it, he saw that it was in need of repair. Kong set about finding vines to redo the netting of the sling. He needed to be ready for when the Small Death tracked him here. _

* * *

Hoffman found the tank moving slowly over a fallen tree trunk, about 5 feet thick. The trunk was starting to crack under the weight of the tank. Hoffman ran up to the rear of the tank, grabbed hold of the ladder, and climbed to the top. On the top, he rammed the butt of his shotgun against the hatch in a staccato signal that his friend Conrad Horst would recognize. The tank stopped, and the hatch opened. Hoffman slid down into the tank, gratefully feeling the coolness of the air conditioned air. Kaiser Dietz was truly brilliant to come up with such an air circulation and cooling system.

"Did you get him?" Horst asked. Horst was a short but powerfully built man with almost no hair on the top of his head. His ever present naval cap, the cap he'd worn since they served together on the U-170 in the oceans of Earth, was still on his sunburned head.

"No," Hoffman said. "I think General Scar saw through our ruse and ran the one direction where he knew I could not be waiting for him."

"That's bad," Horst said. "General Scar will be prepared for us the next time. He might even have a sling ready for us."

"Yes," Hoffman said. "Turn the tank around. I am afraid that the men in the city of the dead may hear the engine, and they have a tank of their own."

Horst's expression was one of relief as he put the tank into reverse, then he turned it slowly back the way they had come. Hoffman hoped that General Scar wasn't doubling back, but he thought that was unlikely.

"His Excellency sent you a message on the wireless," Horst said. "He wants a report."

Hoffman went over to the water tank and dispensed water into his canteen. He took a long drink.

"Did you tell him about the tank I saw?" Hoffman asked.

"Of course not," Horst replied. "I leave reporting to His Excellency to you, Ernst."

"You are a wise man," Hoffman said. "As for His Excellency, he will receive his report, but I want to be farther away from here before I make it, just in case the men in the city of the dead are able to listen in on our wireless."

Horst paled slightly. Clearly, he hadn't thought of that.

"Who are these people and why were they allied with General Scar?" Horst asked.

"I don't know," Hoffman said. "But they were connected with Josef Englehorn, and they have a tank very similar to ours. I am sure that they have some connection with our Kaiser, and I doubt they are his friends."

"No," Horst said. "I doubt His Excellency has friends."

"My dear Conrad," Hoffman said. "You speak treason."

Hoffman's tone was light, but the words were all too true. If Horst had spoken those words within the confines of New Prussia, at best he would be facing a firing squad.

Or worse, he would have been shoved outside the city's protective wall just before nightfall as food for the huge insects, crustaceans, and arachnids that stalked the Atlantean night.

* * *

_Kong listened to the distant engine of the land craft as it moved north. It would not be long before the craft arrived. Kong had little doubt that the Small Death would be able to track him here, particularly since he had made little effort to hide his trail. _

_Kong finished the netting for the sling, and experimentally threw a stone with it. It was accurate. _

_Kong then started to feed. He was famished, but he wouldn't eat too much. He wanted an edge of hunger to remain. He certainly didn't want the Small Death to find him in a post digestive torpor. _

_That would be a humiliating way to die._

_After Kong finished eating, there would be nothing to do but wait. _

* * *

It wasn't until the tank had completely doubled back on General Scar's trail and was on its way north that Hoffman gave Kaiser Dietz his report via wireless.

Dietz: _Did you get him? _

Hoffman: _No, I set a trap for him, but General Scar sniffed it out._

Dietz: _How like him. _

Hoffman: _Your Excellency, I also got another look at General Scar's human companions. There were others. _

Dietz: _Where were they?_

Hoffman: _The city of the dead._

Time passed. Hoffman listened to the tank's engine run as he sipped water from his canteen.

Dietz: _Was it just the four you saw before? _

Hoffman: _No. There were others. _

Dietz: _Describe them. _

Hoffman: _One was a black man. He was one of the men with Scar. Very black, like someone from Africa. Perhaps he was originally one of the natives from the city of the dead, but he seemed to be very civilized._

Dietz: _I do not know him. Describe another one. _

Hoffman: _Another of the men with Scar was very big. Angular. Huge hands. Face like a horse. _

Dietz: _I know him. He is American. The last I knew, he was one of the first American officers stationed in Europe. Describe another one. _

Hoffman: _Another of the men was extremely tall and extremely thin. He wore glasses, and his hair was thinning. _

Dietz: _I do not know him. Describe another one. _

Hoffman: _There was a short man with red hair. He looked like a cross between a man and an ape. Almost like a miniature red headed kong. _

Dietz: _I know him. He is also American, and he served with the big, horse faced man. Did you see another man, medium height and build? Handsome and probably impeccably dressed?_

Hoffman: _Yes, briefly. He came out and argued with the ape- like man, then went back in. _

Minutes passed without a response. Hoffman wondered if Kaiser Dietz had gotten off the wireless.

Finally, a response came.

Dietz: _Come back. Immediately. _

Hoffman was stunned. General Scar, New Prussia's deadliest enemy among the kong, was still alive and free with human allies, and yet His Excellency wanted them to break off the hunt and return home?

Hoffman: _Excellency, we are on General Scar's trail now. We should catch up to him by midday tomorrow. _

Again there was silence, although this time it was shorter, lasting no more than a minute. The reply, when it came, was short and to the point.

Dietz: _Forget Scar. Come back now. Do not question me again. _

Hoffman: _Yes, Excellency. Colonel Hoffman out. _

Hoffman took off his headphones and stared at the wireless machine. Kaiser Dietz said that he knew the men. He said that they were with the American forces during the Great War on the other world. Hoffman wondered, as he had many times in the years since they had arrived on Freya, whether the war in Europe back on Earth had ever ended, and if so, which side had won.

As Hoffman took another swig of water from his canteen, he heard Horst's voice.

"Sun's about down. We need to stop for the night."

Hoffman signaled his agreement with a wordless grunt.

"So," Horst asked. "What are His Excellency's orders now?"

Hoffman surprised himself with his reply.

"He still wants us to hunt down General Scar, but then he wants us to return home."

* * *

_When night fell, Kong knew that he was safe for the night. No little ape would dare be outside of a shelter while the bugs, crabs, and spiders roamed the ground looking for prey. And the little apes did not see well enough in the dark to pilot their craft. In the great city he had been taken to, where the moon was different, the air was hard to breath, and his very body felt heavier than usual, he had seen little apes with craft that generated their own light. The water craft he had ridden on both to that city and back to his homeland had also generated lights. It was possible that the land craft of the Small Death could also generate its own light, but it would be easy to hear and the lights would be easy to see. _

_When the sun rose, that was when the Small Death would come. And Kong would be waiting for him. _

_So Kong slept, lightly. The hunger pangs he intentionally inflicted upon himself made sure of that. _

* * *

Hoffman had never really adjusted to the 18 hour days and the 18 hour nights. They were close to the equator, Hoffman knew that, because the days shortened and lengthened very slightly, and there were only slight variations in climate, the dry season still had lots of rain, the wet season just had more.

But, when the Hellenic and the pursuing U-170 had arrived on Freya, the longer days and nights had about driven them insane. The days were long and hot and seemingly unending, and all too soon their presence on Atlantis' eastern shore had brought land crocodiles and the huge Vastatosaurs that followed them.

The nights, however, the nights were oh so much worse. Hoffman remembered seeing what he thought was a surprisingly large locust in the near distance. Only it wasn't so near, and the locust was nearly a third the size of a man. Worse, it brought its friends, and they did not eat grass.

They were the first creatures his late wife, the formidable and former Mrs. Penhaligon, had officially named. Although she had seen the monsters that she would eventually christen Vastatosaurs the previous day, at the time she was too busy mourning the loss of her first husband, the late Captain James Penhaligon, to think about naming Atlantis' monsters then. Dietz had had every man on the Hellenic wearing a British or American uniform executed. All, that is, except for the black American sergeant who had been guarding safes in a cabin. That man, Dietz had kept alive. Hoffman and the rest of his men didn't find out why until later.

Then, that first night and the several nights thereafter, the _Weta rexes_ were followed by giant land crabs, spiders, and centipedes. They, in turn, were pursued by giant bats that preyed upon the insects, and occasionally snatched up a hapless human being as well.

But Dietz had organized them. He had them building shelters, then during the day finding the hiding places of the giant bugs and burning them out. There had been mistakes, horrible mistakes where fuel using equipment had burned out, erupted into flame, and even exploded. It didn't take Dietz long to figure out that the oxygen content in the atmosphere of Freya was higher than that of Earth. When he wasn't directing them in the building of shelters, the man who then still called himself Captain Dietz went into the interior of the alternately beached or anchored (depending on the tide) Hellenic to talk to the black man, who Hoffman eventually learned was an engineer, one nearly as clever as Dietz himself, named William Hawkins. Together, they helped to build a small village that would eventually become a city, and then a metropolis.

Hoffman too had become invaluable, in his own way. Before the war, he had been a big game hunter with his father. Now, he applied his skills to larger and deadlier game. And yet, his fascination for the wildlife of Atlantis on the world of Freya helped to keep him sane during those early months. It was a fascination that was shared, in a different sense, with the widowed Mrs. Penhaligon. Eventually, it drew them together. Hoffman still missed his wife and sons, who were hopefully still alive on another world. Mrs. Penhaligon still missed her husband, even as she eventually embraced a man who was associated with his murderer.

Then, Hoffman encountered and shot a silverback kong. In retaliation, the rest of the expedition with him were killed by the silverback's family. Hoffman was extremely impressed by the intelligence of the kong as they hunted down his comrades and killed them. Even as he barely escaped with his own life, he admired his hunters.

His new wife, the new Frau Hoffman, was fascinated by the kong for another reason. As the people of New Prussia, both German sailors and their English captives, discovered other human colonies, all with kong protectors, Frau Hoffman became fascinated with the symbiotic relationship between kong and human. As she learned about the kong and their symbiotic relationship with other human colonies, she tried to convince Adolf Dietz that they should explore the option of a relationship with the kong was well. Hoffman suspected that his new wife actually was interested in becoming a wet nurse to a kong. But more, she was simply interested in the kong themselves.

Dietz would hear nothing of it.

Then, one day, when the new Frau Hoffman was especially impassioned, Dietz simply took out his Luger and shot her in the head. Then he turned to his "friend", Ernst Hoffman and simply said:

"I can't allow my leadership to be disputed, old friend. I am sorry for your loss, but I am sure you understand."

Even as a voice screamed loudly in his head to kill Adolph Dietz, Hoffman heard his actual voice say that he understood.

Ever since then, Hoffman tried to live with his new identity: The identity of a coward. A coward who told himself that the survival of the people of New Prussia was dependent upon having a strong leader like Adolf Dietz, and that he owed his primary loyalty not to his wife, but to his commanding officer.

Not long afterward, the war with the kong had begun in earnest, as General Scar arrived as if from nowhere to lead a kong army. Not long after the war had ended, and the kong were gone, Adolf Dietz proclaimed himself Kaiser of New Prussia. For his efforts in the war (efforts that Hoffman had actually half hoped would get him killed), the new Kaiser promoted Hoffman to the rank of Colonel.

The only freedom Hoffman could get was to convince his Kaiser that he should allow his new Colonel to explore the interior of the peninsula on the continent of Atlantis to look for new threats. He and his friend Horst, who was similarly sick of "His Excellency", took a tank and left as soon as the Kaiser finally gave them his permission, only returning periodically to refuel.

Now, Kaiser Dietz wanted them to return home. Hoffman knew he was taking a terrible chance, but the hunt for General Scar, probably the last kong on Freya, was too great an opportunity.

It was the last chance he had to prove to himself that he was indeed a man, and not a coward.

So Hoffman spent the long 18 hour night alternating between sleeping fitfully and not at all. Tomorrow would either be the last day of General Scar's life, or his own.

* * *

_Kong awoke from his light sleep and watched the sun rise. He had been dreaming of his mates and children, his murdered family. Also in the dream were the little yellow haired ape and, curiously, the little brave ape that had first taken her from him. The little yellow haired ape was helping to raise one of his children, and the little brave ape was playing some sort of game with him. _

_The dream was odd, but it was pleasant. _

_When Kong woke up, he observed the ritual taught to him by the little yellow ape, even though she was no longer present. _

_It just seemed to be the thing to do to welcome the rising sun. _

_Then, Kong heard the engine of the land craft. He could now track the vehicle's progress towards him. _

_Kong sighed. It was time to get back to work. He had already completed his preparations. However, it was important to wait for a foe in the correct frame of mind. _

* * *

Hoffman left Horst and the tank after they had moved about 3 kilometers northward. They had easily found Scar's latest trail, and it was the very ease of finding it that worried Hoffman.

General Scar had obviously taken no pains to hide his trail. Hoffman looked in vain for other, more hidden trails. The conclusion was obvious, and disturbing.

General Scar was obviously leading them somewhere where he believed that he had the advantage.

Hoffman told Horst to stop the tank and wait for him. Hoffman did not want to risk the tank or his last true friend, Conrad Horst. However, he also instructed Horst to leave the engine running, to mask Hoffman's approach. Hoffman could move very silently when he needed to. And he could lie in wait for a very, very long time.

Hoffman followed Scar's trail slowly and cautiously from the side, staying hidden among the foliage. Fortunately, he did not run into the many dangerous creatures that could have been lurking among the forest, particularly land crocodiles, which were as common as rats on a ship. Hoffman didn't want to have to give away his position by having to shoot something.

Eventually, the trail ended, and Hoffman could see why the crafty old silverback had led him here. It was a huge, if not sheer, cliff side (although not nearly as high as the cliff that divided the lower peninsula from the giant forests of the middle peninsula). The cliff was lined with old ruins. There were also crevasses along the entire side of the cliff, and waterfalls were in some of the crevasses. The crevasses were more than large enough to provide a hiding place even for a creature as large as a silverback kong. Scar could be watching him even now from within a crevasse or from behind one of the old ruins!

Hoffman heard his own heartbeat. _This_ was the _thrill _of the hunt! Confronting a creature as clever as himself, a creature possessing great and terrible brute power! Hoffman moved slowly down, then away from, the cliff side, but not too far. He didn't want to be crushed by a huge stone from the silverback kong's sling. Not before he had gotten off a shot of his own, at any rate.

Hoffman crept along the side of the cliff, looking into each crevasse. Eventually, he found some fresh kong dung midway up the cliff. Then Hoffman found what he wanted to find, a hiding place of his own. It was an outcrop with an overhang, one that allowed him to see most of the cliff side, while at the same time hiding him from view and, even if General Scar had already seen him, sheltering him from most of the rocks the kong could fling at him with his sling. Most importantly, the silverback could not approach without Hoffman having a clear shot at him.

Hoffman settled in to wait.

He was still waiting an hour or so later when he heard a terrific and distant crash to the south, and then another. For the briefest moment, Hoffman wondered what it could have been.

Then he knew. Great rocks were being hurled against the tank! General Scar had circled back while Hoffman was on his trail to attack the tank and Horst!

Hoffman got up and ran out of his hiding place, scrambling up the cliff as quickly as he could. But it took time, time to reach the place where he left the tank. By the time he got back, the sounds of crashing had long since ended, and he was far too late. The tank was rolled over, its tread sticking straight up in the air. The thick steel body was badly dented at its most undamaged, crushed at its worst. The shattered remains of large basalt stones were scattered around it. Hoffman could smell the smoke coming out of the interior of the tank, and knew that a fire had burned quickly and hot within the cabin. Hoffman's nostrils also detected a smell that was all too familiar to him even before he arrived on the shores of Atlantis on the world of Freya:

The smell of roasting human flesh, his friend Conrad Horst's flesh!

Hoffman started to laugh. It was not a sane laugh. His wife, his second wife, had been killed trying to defend the kong. Now, the last of the kong had outsmarted him. Hoffman now could hear Scar moving somewhere behind him. He could hear the silverback's breathing. But Hoffman was out of his hiding place now. They were both more or less in the open, and Scar was behind him, probably with a stone already in his sling.

It was over. He had lost. General Scar had won.

Hoffman had lost his last friend, and that, he realized, was his only regret. He did not regret losing this last confrontation with General Scar. In fact, he realized in a sudden burst of clarity that this was how he wanted it to end.

Still, Hoffman knew he had one last thing that he could control. He would not wait for the crushing force of the sling thrown stone.

He put the muzzle of his great shotgun under his chin and put his thumb to the trigger, and pushed.

* * *

_Kong stood looking at the body of the Small Death. He let the stone drop from his sling. He was surprised, shocked actually. Fatalism and self sacrifice for defense of family or even revenge were concepts well understood by the kong, but suicide was beyond them. _

_Perhaps, Kong thought, the Small Death was attempting one last, fancy shot over his shoulder, and missed, blowing off his own head instead in a last, desperate attempt to win. _

_Kong wasn't convinced that this was the case, but he decided that he felt better if that was what he thought, so he did. _

_Kong slowly made his way back to the cliff side. He realized that it was quite possible that he had compromised another hiding place, and he was wondering, as he often did since the war was lost, what the point of hiding was anyway. _

_Once back on the cliff side, he stopped to feed, and this time to feed in earnest, tearing up huge stalks of bamboo and tearing them apart to get to the sweet meat within. He ate, then ate some more. _

_Then he started to drowse, then drowse some more. _

_And he dreamed of his daughter. His eldest child, born to his first female, whom he had not seen in 10 years. _

_And yet he heard her voice, calling to him. _

_Then he opened his eyes, and still heard her voice. _

_Or more accurately, a bizarre mockery of her voice. _

_Kong stood up, and recognized the source of the sound. It was coming from an ant. The insects often relayed the sounds of animals that they heard to notify their colonies of potential dangers. The Vastatosaurs in particular had a taste for the insects. _

_But this was different, this was the reproduction of the voice of a kong, and not just any kong. _

_His daughter!_

_And as he listened, he realized it was a message. _

_A message for him!_

"_Father," it said. "Come north. Come __**home**__."_

_Kong was stunned. He had given up hope that anyone else among his people, much less his own family, was still alive!_

_The content of the message made sense. As a silverback aged, and was no longer able to defend his family, another silverback would depose him. Then, the aged silverback would leave, and generally be accepted into a family in which his daughter had rank and standing. The aged silverback would be an inactive breeder, and a trusted advisor to the reigning silverback. Several times through the years, Kong had accepted the father of one of his mates into his family. Now, his daughter was calling on him to join __**her**__ family. _

_Kong, however, though old, was not yet weak. _

_Still, he realized it didn't matter to him. Even if the reigning silverback did not accept him, and drove him away, such an event would still rank among the most joyful experiences of his life!_

_His people still existed!_

"_Father," the message from his daughter said. "Come north. Come __**home**__."_

_Then there came directions. _

Next

Kiko, Hilda, and the Roc


	20. Chapter 20 Kiko, Hilda, and the Roc

**This chapter is likely to be pretty short. Still, this may be the last chapter I am able to do for awhile. Back to work on multiple fronts and all that. **

**I see on my statistics page that I still have a fair number of people reading this story. I hope that you are enjoying it. **

Chapter 20

Kiko, Hilda, and the Roc

Carl Denham, for the first time since that tragic night in New York City, wished he had his camera. He was standing on the deck of the largest pure sailing ship he had ever seen. The ship literally had three large boats underneath it, all about 60 feet wide at their widest extent and 300 feet long. There was about 20 feet between the widest points of each hull. Built across the tops of the three boats was a huge wooden deck that curved to follow the edges of the two underlying hulls at the end. Literally, this is was huge raft straddling three big boats. The huge raft ship had four gigantic masts with huge sails that extended beyond the edge of the huge raft. It was the most remarkable ship Denham had ever seen.

The deck was connected to the three boats underneath by an extremely solid looking network of beams, and yet the beams were connected to other beams by flexible joints. This made the ride on the deck incredibly smooth. Men and women walked along the deck and also went in and out of holds built into each of the three boats underlying the huge deck. Lining the deck, primarily between the boats, were literal octagonal houses. The largest and central house had been the one Denham had awakened in.

The earlier hard rain had ended. The surface of the deck was still damp but there were holes in it that served as drains. Women were now tending cooking fires in elevated metal fire pits. Denham had had the best food he had ever had on this other Earth. There were large green fruits with sweet and wet red interiors that were sweet and tart, much better than any watermelon that Denham had ever had. The flat wheat bread was tender and the fish was always grilled and delicious. Denham's favorite meal so far, however, was roasted duck bill dinosaur.

The sky was now bright blue with some puffy white clouds. Men were tending the sails, but the most remarkable individual tending the sails, swinging from one thick rope to another, was the huge white gorilla that Hilda MacKenzie had called Kiko. Denham watched him swing on the very thick rope from one mast to another, apparently to inspect a sail. Seeing a giant gorilla, huge but not nearly as big as Kong, working as a sailor was the most incredible thing Denham had ever seen on this world of dinosaurs, giant gorillas, deadly giant insects, and carnivorous fish the size of a city bus.

Denham was now dressed as the rest of the men were. He wore a colorful cotton shirt and tan cotton trousers. He had leather sandals (he suspected not coming from cow hide) that were laced up to his calf. The two men guarding him, tall and muscular, were dressed the same way, but they had the added touches of a cutlass and a pistol on their belts. Denham didn't blame them or their captain, John MacKenzie, for their caution.

When Denham had woken up in the huge, central house, at first he had only seen Delores MacKenzie, the ship's doctor. When she had informed Denham that her husband would have questions for him, he was startled to hear the gravelly voice behind him and to his left. When Denham turned his head to the left, he felt a stab of pain in his head, and he let his head fall back on the soft pillow.

_Me first question be to ask you the question me daughter asked you, Mr. Denham, _the gravelly voice had said. _Be you a slaver?_

Denham hesitated for just a second before answering. Obviously, his memories of the young woman Hilda MacKenzie and her white gorilla companion were true. From the viewpoint of the white gorilla, Denham might well have been a slaver. After all, he had kidnapped the larger King Kong and taken him to New York in chains.

However, Denham was certain that was not what the gigantic man in the shadows was asking.

_No, sir, _Denham answered truthfully. _I am now nothing more than a sailor who has lost his ship. _

_Lost your ship how? _the big man in shadows had asked.

_My ship was attacked, _Denham answered. _It was attacked by another ship, a U-boat, that can travel underwater. Half of my fellow crew were killed, and half were taken by the men in the U-boat. _

_And where were you?_

_I was blown overboard in the explosion, _Denham lied. He didn't want to take the time to explain that he had been tossed overboard by two crew members. It was, Denham thought, an unnecessary complication. If he ever saw those men again, he would settle things with them himself.

_Sleep, Mr. Denham, _the big man in shadows, who Denham now knew as Captain John MacKenzie, had said. _Rest assured that I will be checking into the truth of your story. _

And now, as Denham stood on the immense deck alternating between watching the activity on the ship, and watching the dolphins (which looked just like the ones from his home world) jumping in the ship's wake, he was approached by none other than Captain John MacKenzie himself. The captain was built very similarly to Carl Denham, solid with a somewhat ample belly. However, the captain was considerably taller, almost as tall as Doc or Renny. Denham suspected that Captain MacKenzie might have been even stronger than Renny, but of course his strength would not have been a match for that of Doc Savage! MacKenzie's skin was the color of dark milk chocolate. His hairless head was covered by an old fashioned pirate captain's hat, and a huge golden earring hung from his left ear.

Captain MacKenzie's left hand was covered with a thick leather glove that reminded Denham of a falconer's glove.

"Look up, Mr. Denham," MacKenzie said. "Soon, we will know the truth of what you told me. If you lied to me and me daughter, and you indeed be a slaver, then you will be feeding the fishes soon enough."

Denham looked up and saw two birds. One bird came down, and Denham saw a brightly colored parrot, but one the likes of which he had never seen before. It landed on the glove on MacKenzie's outstretched hand. The blue, green, and yellow bird was quite large. It was undoubtedly a parrot, but it had the body of a hawk, and its beak was curved in the way of a raptor. To confirm Denham's impression of carnivory, MacKenzie took out a piece of fish. The parrot took the fish in its left foot, and then started to tear at it with its beak. When the parrot finished, it looked at the Captain, and Denham was stunned by what the bird did next.

"He be coming," the parrot said to the Captain.

* * *

Hilda looked down from the Crow's nest at her father and the man who called himself Carl Denham. She knew that her father was convinced that the man was a slaver, and she had to admit that the evidence was against him. He was dressed like the slavers, for one thing. For another thing, her people were always convinced that the slavers would come back to get them.

Approximately 150 years ago, the first set of ancestors for her people came to this land aboard a ship named The Back Pearl. Sixty years later, the second set of ancestors arrived courtesy of a wreck on the peninsula's southeastern coast. They were slaves being transported to their new owners. When the ship wrecked on the rocky coast, the slaves broke free and killed the slavers. By then, her first set of descendents, already skilled sailors, found them. The two groups of people intermarried, and became the greatest merchants in their new world. There were people spread far and wide, in small pockets across the coasts not only of the peninsula, but across the coasts of the continent that circled the whole of the northern hemisphere. Hilda's people transported goods between these isolated pockets of people. It was the first time many of these communities had even become aware of the other human communities on this world.

But always, Hilda's people knew that slavers could follow them here, and eventually the slavers did return. They came in two ships, one that could move underneath the surface of the ocean. They kidnapped and murdered people all along both coasts of the peninsula. Hilda's people left their coastal village for a new location on an island to the west. However, the village itself was quite small. Most of her people lived out their lives on the open ocean. Thanks to their Eye in the Sky, they were able to evade the slavers.

But then another ship that belched smoke arrived. It came out of the mist, then after a short stay it went back into the mist. Little more than a month later, it returned and moved down the coast. The Admiral sent her father's ship to investigate, and Kiko, as he always did when they came close to landfall, wanted to go to shore. It was when they were on a nearby island that Mr. Denham, clinging to wreckage, washed up onto shore. Hilda and Kiko had heard what sounded like two great, if distant, explosions two hours before they found Mr. Denham on shore. Mr. Denham, when he recovered consciousness in Hilda's family cabin, claimed that the explosions marked the sinking of his own ship by the slavers. But, Mr. Denham was dressed like the new slavers, and he could have been lying.

Hilda was surprised by the intensity of her hope that Mr. Denham was telling the truth. There was something about him that made her want to trust him. Maybe it was the kind manner with which he greeted Kiko. Maybe it was his unconscious swagger, so similar to her father's.

Whatever it was, she hoped the Eye in the Sky would confirm his story.

Kiko climbed up to her crow's nest and made the hand signs that Hilda and the young white kong had learned from her mother.

_Look up, _Kiko signed. _The Eye be here. _

And sure enough, a great shadow fell over them.

* * *

"_**Kiko**_!" roared Captain MacKenzie. "_**Get your big white arse down here, boy**_!"

The white gorilla climbed down the mast, and swung down on the ropes until he landed heavily on the deck of the ship, almost right next to the Captain. The captain looked tiny indeed next to the great white gorilla.

Kiko, while standing on all fours, looked down at the captain. Captain MacKenzie looked up at the white gorilla.

"Well go ahead, boy," the Captain said. "Push out the welcome."

The white gorilla immediately ran off and swung over the side of the ship. Denham heard the white gorilla swinging among the beams that connected the deck to the three boats underneath. Then, Denham heard something moving underneath, something big. Out the front of the ship a huge beam was pushed out.

Then, a huge black shadow fell over them. Denham looked up. He didn't even notice as the big white gorilla resumed his place on the deck next to the captain.

Denham had seen many astonishing things of late, each more astonishing than the thing he had seen before.

But the huge white bird that landed on the pole may have topped everything!

The bird that stood on the pole was immediately familiar, but the proportions were different. The bird's body stood easily twenty feet tall. The wings, however, were enormous. Denham did not get a good look at the bird's wingspan before it landed, but he suspected the wingspan might have been as wide as 70 to 75 feet! Even with the enormous body, the bird's huge head seemed barely able to peek out over the folded wing.

But the bill and the shape of the head all easily identified the bird as a giant raven, in spite of the white color.

"What…what _is_ that?" Denham asked Captain MacKenzie.

"That, Mr. Denham, be our Eye in the Sky," answered MacKanzie. "Our own friendly roc!"

A roc! As in tales of Sinbad the Sailor and Marco Polo! Denham wasn't certain if the bird was big enough to carry off an elephant, but the bird was big enough to easily carry off a man.

The huge white raven turned and looked at Denham with his black eyes. MacKenzie's carnivorous parrot moved uneasily back and forth on the captain's big shoulder.

Then, incredibly, the roc spoke in a loud voice that somehow both screeched and boomed at the same time!

"**Your bird came to me, Captain MacKenzie," **the Eye in the Sky said. **"He came with your question."**

"This man, Mr. Denham," MacKenzie said as he pointed to Denham. "This man says that he was on the ship that came out of the mists on the west side of the peninsula. He says that his ship was sunk by the slavers."

"**I do not know if this man was on the new ship that came out of the mists," **The Eye said. **"But I do know that the ones you call the slavers attacked the new ship and sank it. I saw it while I was riding the wind."**

Denham was stunned. He knew that eagles and other birds had extremely sharp eyesight, but a bird this size must have been flying very, very high indeed to flown above the Venture unobserved, and the big raven's eyesight must have been absolutely incredible to have seen what happened!

"Did you see what happened to the crew?" MacKenzie asked.

"**Aye!" **answered the Eye. **"They killed the crew on one little boat, and took the ones on the other boat into their ship."**

"Ah," said Captain MacKenzie. "That be consistent with what Mr. Denham said."

"**Then perhaps he be telling you the truth," **the Eye said. **"But it matters little to me. Your next catch of fish belongs to me either way." **

"Aye," Captain MacKenzie said. "And you shall have it! It be me promise to you, as it was me father's before me!"

The huge bird's wings unfolded. Denham felt compelled to duck, but the bird's left wing opened above his head. Then the roc, the Eye in the Sky, turned and looked expectedly at Captain MacKenzie.

"_**Turn the ship so that the wind be under his wings, lads**_!" roared MacKenzie. The great ship turned, and the huge bird leaped off of his perch. He went down towards the water then his great wings flapped once, and then again. The huge bird slowly and majestically rose into the air.

'Good thing he didn't say, 'nevermore'!" Denham muttered under his breath. He jumped slightly as MacKenzie's great hand came down on his shoulder.

"Your story appears to be true, so far as we can tell," MacKenzie said. "So, Mr. Denham, you be welcome to sail with us."

"What's my alternative?" asked Denham.

Captain MacKenzie laughed, a great booming laugh.

"Your alternative, Mr. Denham, be over the railing on the deck!" MacKenzie said, still chuckling as he walked off. "Put him to work boys. It be time for Mr. Denham to earn his keep with us!"

Denham nodded, more to himself than anyone else. He agreed with the Captain's decree that he needed to earn his keep. However, he was also determined to find the surviving members of the Venture's crew, and he had a feeling he would never do so while he was on MacKenzie's ship.

"Well, boys," Denham said to his two bodyguards. "Find me some work."

Next

Chapter 21

Tales from the Heart

**A tip of the hat, once again, to the creators of Pirates of the Caribbean, and also to the Alan Parsons Project! **


	21. Chapter 21 Tales from the Heart

**With this chapter, this story goes on hiatus again for quite a while. I have lots of work to do on multiple fronts, including, as Rebecca put it, my "real" writing. So, have a good Spring (or Fall if you are in the southern hemisphere) everyone. I will return, but it may be quite a long time before I do. Tips of the hat to Bill Cosby and the Cosby Show and, once again, Pirates of the Caribbean.**

Chapter 21

Tales from the Heart

The cabin in the submarine where they were all kept was small and cramped, and the seven surviving crew members of the Venture were crowded together in the dark quite uncomfortably. The men were fed small bits of food rarely and at erratic intervals. The only regular thing their captors provided for them were bathroom breaks. The surviving Venture crew would be taken to the toilet one at a time by two heavily armed guards. The light when the cabin door was opened was blindingly painful.

The surviving crew members included Jimmy Hayes, Reynolds, Harker, von Kroenigswald, Henderson, Ashford, and Singh. Not, Jimmy Hayes noted wryly and bitterly for the hundredth time, Carl Denham, the man Captain Englehorn had designated as his successor.

Jimmy Hayes had told the other men about Captain Englehorn's final orders, and his desire to have Carl Denham take over. Jimmy was shocked to find that none of the other men seemed to be surprised.

"Jimmy," Reynolds said. "Denham was already becoming a leader among us, and to a man we all would much rather take orders from a Carl Denham than from a Nils Helstrom. And Helstrom knew it too!"

"To bad Denham was on the other lifeboat," Henderson said miserably.

"_I_ didn't see him there," Jimmy said.

"I didn't either," Reynolds agreed. The men all started to talk among themselves and soon it was apparent that none of them had seen Denham on the lifeboat. Had he, like Englehorn, been killed in the attack? Or had something else happened? No one knew, and the surviving crew of the Venture soon returned to a miserable silence.

Their captors had taken away their watches. One of their guards, who spoke English, said with utter contempt that "thralls had no need for watches" and that their "watches were all wrong anyway". The ride in the pitch black, cramped cabin seemed to take forever. Thus it was a sudden shock when the door to the cabin opened, with blinding light pouring into the cabin. Jimmy's fellow crew members were all a ragged looking bunch, and Jimmy was certain that he looked no better.

"Get out!" yelled the cruel English speaking guard. "Get out and greet your new home, rats!"

Slowly, the last remaining crew of the Venture staggered out into the light and, one at a time, climbed the ladder out of the sub. Four men with automatic weapons stood at the base of the ladder, and four more stood at the top of the ladder. The sunlight was blinding when they climbed out. Jimmy, who was the second man out, saw that one of the guards at the top of the ladder was the man who had operated the machine gun that had killed his fellow crew members. Jimmy, who had grown up semi-wild on the streets of Baltimore and New York's lower East Side, knew how to handle guns. He was tempted, for the briefest of moments, to throw his life away trying to take revenge for his murdered crewmates. But, something, some deep recess of better sense, stopped him.

Incredibly, the man who had operated the machine gun actually looked at them with a sympathetic expression on his face. He nodded at Jimmy and motioned to him to approach.

"The Kaiser wishes for you to have an audience with him," the man said to Jimmy. The man then pointed to Harker. "You come too."

"What about the rest of us?" Reynolds asked. The cruel English speaking guard, who had climbed up behind him, struck Reynolds with the butt of his rifle.

"You will shut up unless you are spoken to, rat!" the guard snarled.

The crewman who had separated Jimmy and Harker out put his hand on Jimmy's shoulder.

"Come," he said.

Jimmy, Harker, the murdering crewman and two other crewmen from the sub walked along the submarine, then jumped one at a time to the floating dock. Then they walked to a stairway cut into the rock. The stairway was covered with a wet green slime, which indicated that the tide was low, or at least not high. The climb was long, and Jimmy's cramped legs started to ache. The air, although energizing as the air of this world always was, stunk of sulfur and smoke. Then, as he reached the head of the stairs, Jimmy Hayes got his first look at New Prussia.

* * *

T'maru's every sense, heightened through rigorous practice and the high science of Wakandan technology and wisdom, was focused on the bridge they had built from the cages previously left on shore by the Venture. According to his, Renny's and Doc's best calculations, the bridge should have been able to hold the Rumbler's considerable bulk, but it would be close, especially since their calculations took into account the 89 percent Earth gravity on this world. Doc was carefully driving the Rumbler. Doc and T'maru were the only two in the craft. Ann, Monk, and Jack Driscoll were all on the city of the dead side of the bridge, while Renny, Pat, Long Tom, Johnny, and Ham were all on the jungle side of the bridge. Their prisoner, Lieutenant Vogt, stood in between Renny and Johnny.

A thick strand of nylon thread was tied around T'maru's waist. The strand ran up out of the open hatch on the top of the Rumbler and was tied around the frame to which the natives had tied their sacrifices to Kong. If the bridge started to collapse, T'maru would grab Doc and they would leap through the open hatch. Doc trusted in T'maru's ability to react fast enough in reaction to such an event. That way, Doc could entirely focus on piloting the Rumbler.

Since Ann's stand against the natives three 36 hour days before, none of the natives had challenged them or interfered with them in any way. T'maru had attempted to use Ann as an intermediary with the natives, to see if he could learn their language, since his own language also derived from the same ancestral tongue. He had had some success, but not much. Part of it, T'maru suspected, was that their worlds were so different, and that the natural divergence of languages had been accentuated by the different vocabulary that this world had encouraged.

One thing that had become clear: "Kong" did not just refer to an individual giant gorilla, it referred to the species. They did have a specific name for the kong they had met, and T'maru believed that the name roughly translated into "Kong the Great" or something like that. That, plus Vogt's name for Kong, "General Scar", indicated that the silverback that they had brought back from New York was special indeed.

"We're almost there," Doc said. T'maru was both amused and impressed with the calmness in Doc's voice. Doc's ability to remain at least outwardly calm in response to any situation was legendary. It was a trait that Doc shared with his late father.

"Very good," T'maru said.

At that moment, T'maru heard the sounds of machine pistols firing from the jungle side of the dry moat.

"Sound like trouble," Doc said. In spite of the fact that his own cousin, as well as several men who were as close to him as brothers, were on the side of the moat where the gunfire was coming from, Doc could have been commenting over some unexpected bad weather for all the alarm in his voice. Doc expressed his concern another way.

"Perhaps, T'maru, you could take a look and see what is going on?" Doc said. He continued to pilot the Rumbler on the final stretch of its journey across the bridge.

T'maru grabbed his sonic spear and leaped for the ladder. What he saw when he climbed on top of the Rumber was alarming indeed. Two very large land crocodiles were attacking the group! One seemed to be succumbing to the gunfire, but the other, moving very quickly, made a beeline for the one human who was not armed. Moving very swiftly, T'maru raised his spear to his lips and blew, blowing a hole through the land crocodile's head. But it was too late, Vogt was already bitten in two.

The other land crocodile tried to run, but Ham ran up to it and shot it in the head, and it collapsed into a heap.

Right at that moment, thankfully considering all else that was going on, the Rumbler crossed the bridge. T'maru turned and waved to Monk, Ann, and Jack Driscoll waiting on the city of the dead side of the bridge.

"Hurry across and get into the Rumbler!" T'maru yelled.

Then T'maru turned to the people who had already crossed the bridge and said. "You all come into the Rumbler too. From my recollection, these things run in packs."

And indeed, from within the jungle itself, T'maru heard the rustlings and snorts of other land crocodiles.

* * *

Of all the things that Jimmy Hayes never, _**ever**_ expected to see upon his return trip to "Skull Island"; an industrial city would have topped the list.

But that was what he was looking at.

Eight to ten story buildings lined the rocky shore. Most of them looked like apartment buildings. They were very pale colored, as if they were sculpted out of a white stone. Further back, there was a huge, dark building that would have stood respectably among the skyscrapers of New York! Behind all the buildings there were rows upon rows of smokestacks belching smoke.

Jimmy found himself, with Harker beside him, being prodded into the city. He walked among the streets. The people on the streets were mostly men dressed in pale slacks, short sleeved shirts, and boots. The women wore surprisingly short skirts, white blouses, and boots. Some were pale skinned, like him, but others had bronze skin and hair that reminded him of Doc and Pat Savage. The latter were very tall, the men easily six and a half feet and taller, the women over six feet.

Jimmy found himself wondering if Doc and Pat Savage had originally come from Skull Island itself!

"Are you seeing what I…" Jimmy started to say to Harker, only to be roughly shoved in the back with a gun butt.

"No talking," the murdering crewman said from beside him. He actually looked and sounded apologetic for the man who had shoved him in the back. However, the warning was still clear.

Jimmy found himself walking on a cobblestone street. People stared at them as they walked by, but no one dared to say anything, and they averted their eyes if any of their guards turned to look at them. Occasionally, a young man on a bicycle would ride by, ringing a bell to alert the pedestrians. If Jimmy were to close his eyes for a second, he could almost imagine himself back in his native Baltimore.

But he wasn't anywhere near Baltimore, and as he was marched through the city, he saw that their destination was the dark skyscraper that loomed ominously in front of them.

Of course, the tallest building would have been the home of New Prussia's "Kaiser". Jimmy doubted that this man wanted them for anything good.

* * *

Kaiser Adolf Dietz stood looking out his great office window that overlooked the factories and thrall hovels that lined the west side of New Prussia. In the distance, somewhat obscured by the smoke from the factories, was the great wall that protected New Prussia from the Vastatosaurs, land crocodiles, and many of the giant insects that roamed the Atlantean night. Beyond the wall was a sterile stretch of ground that was filled with mines. Once in awhile, particularly at night, a mine would go off, probably in response to a carnivorous land crab or something trying to cross towards the wall. Once a week, during the day, a mine would go off as a hapless thrall, who was sent out to replace the mines, wandered into the wrong spot.

But then thralls were, after all, expendable by definition.

Dietz was very anxious. At last, at _last_ he would meet one of the invaders. He would find out the answers to unanswered questions. He now had a better idea of who the invaders were, but now he needed to find out what they wanted.

It was not good, Dietz thought, that the captain of the ship that brought the invaders over was Captain Joseph Englehorn. Dietz had hated Englehorn for one simple reason. Even though Dietz was the inventor of the U-170, the German Navy had wanted the dynamic young officer, Englehorn, to captain it. Dietz, however, had decided that he wanted to captain his own ship. He was sick of working in the labs, he wanted action, and he wanted action using the very weapons that he designed! It had been a very simple matter for Dietz to get rid of Englehorn, however. He arranged for an accident while Englehorn was on leave with his beloved Elsa. Englehorn had survived the accident. Elsa had not. But, Englehorn was still injured (and presumably grief stricken), and while he was convalescing, the German Navy had reluctantly let Dietz have his command.

And now, as a result of his submarine command, Dietz had a kingdom.

But _why_ would Englehorn bring over Americans, particularly Heart Hawkins' fellow think tank members? The only two possibilities were that one, Englehorn was a traitor, and even Dietz had to admit that that was an extremely remote possibility, or two, the war was over, and Germany had lost. Dietz suspected the latter. In fact, he thought the result was inevitable once the United States, that industrial giant protected by two great walls of ocean, had entered the fray.

Dietz had to consider that Englehorn had come wanting revenge, and that Brooks and his fellow think tank members had come for their missing comrade, Heart Hawkins! Apparently, they may also have brought native guides for this purpose, and they had formed an alliance with General Scar!

Yes, disturbing indeed.

Also worrying was the fact that there had been no further wireless messages from Hoffman. More than likely, Hoffman had either been killed by Scar or captured by Brooks and his associates.

He needed to know more about the invaders, and about the intentions of Brooks and his team.

And now, two of the men from Englehorn's ship were being brought to him.

At _last_.

There was a knock on his door.

"Enter!" said Dietz. This would not be the captives, not yet.

Dietz's son, Adolf the Second, entered. His head almost brushed the top of the door frame. He looked anxious, and a smile of anticipation that even Dietz found to be cruel danced upon his lips.

"Shut the door, stand over there, and be silent," Dietz commanded to his son. His son's expression darkened into a pout, but he complied.

Then, there came another knock on the door.

* * *

Jimmy Hayes couldn't believe it. He was on "Skull Island" riding an elevator, complete with a red uniformed operator (a bronze skinned lad who reminded him of Doc Savage). On the back wall of the elevator, Jimmy Hayes got his first view of Kaiser Adolf Dietz. The Kaiser was depicted on a poster, standing and extending his hand as if to the future. He was dark haired and, in spite of the attempt of the artist to make him look noble, beady eyed with a thin lipped, cruel looking mouth.

"Eyes forward," said the murdering crewman. Jimmy turned and looked at the elevator door. When the elevator dinged, the attendant opened the door and Jimmy walked out onto a carpeted floor. The air was cool. Somewhere, he heard the clacking of typewriters.

Jimmy, Harker, and their guards walked down the hall. Around the corner, there were three sets of two guards, each one a large, burly, well armed man. A thin faced white haired man, who Jimmy recognized as the captain of the submarine, approached them. He was no longer in uniform. Instead, he wore a business suit. He said something in German to the guards, and they prodded Jimmy and Harker forward. The submarine captain then knocked on the door, and an authoritative voice from behind the door called out.

The door opened, and Jimmy and Harker were ushered into the office of Kaiser Adolf Dietz.

The man portrayed heroically in the poster on the elevator was indeed the Kaiser of New Prussia. Jimmy was not surprised, however, to see that the man in real life did not live up to his image. He was small, shorter than Jimmy (who was far from tall). His eyes were deep set, small, and dark. The shock of dark hair on the man in the poster had retreated far up the actual Kaiser Dietz's head.

The man was dressed in a black business suit. There were three large medals hanging from the lapel of the suit..

Kaiser Dietz looked at Jimmy, then at Harker, before turning and looking to his right. Jimmy followed his gaze and what he saw was chilling. A long haired bronze giant, even taller and broader than Doc Savage! But it was not the person's size that was chilling. It was the fact that the giant's face was an echo of Kaiser Dietz. Jimmy knew without anyone having to say anything that this was the Kaiser's son.

The other, even more chilling thing was that it was obvious that this giant was a boy, probably no more than 16. At first, he looked like a man, but a close examination of the face indicated a smooth plumpness that was generally not found in boys or girls older than 16.

And the look on the youth's face as he looked back at Jimmy was nothing less than sadistic.

"So, you sailed under Englehorn, eh?"

Jimmy jumped slightly at Dietz's voice. The Kaiser of New Prussia had moved around his desk to stand right in front of him. The man's dark eyes were looking into his own, and seemed to be looking right through him.

"Yes," Jimmy answered.

"Did you like your captain?" asked Dietz conversationally as he leaned against his huge dark wooden desk. There were chairs all over the office, but Dietz did not ask them to sit down.

"Yes, I did," Jimmy answered.

Dietz nodded to one of the men behind Jimmy, and the next moment a painful blow was struck with a rifle butt between his shoulders. Jimmy stumbled forward, but did not fall.

"Yes, _Excellency_," said the voice of the guard who struck him. "You are in the presence of Royalty. The man who holds your life in his hands."

"Yes, _Excellency_," Jimmy mumbled, pure hate bubbling deep within him.

Dietz hadn't moved from the side of the desk, and he now waved his hand low and dismissively.

"My apologies for the rudeness of my men," Dietz said. "They are devoted to me, and can be a little overzealous at times."

Then Dietz pushed himself away from the desk and walked in front of Harker.

"And what about you?" Dietz asked. "Did you like serving under Captain Englehorn as well?"

"Y…yes sir, I mean, your Excellency," Harker said, his voice shaking in obvious terror. He appeared to tense himself for a blow between his own shoulders, but it never came.

Dietz chuckled and shook his head slightly, then waved his right index finger slightly. His smile was paternal and, Jimmy also knew, completely fake.

"Well, Josef Englehorn always commanded loyalty," Dietz said. "Men loved to serve under him. But for myself…"

Dietz stopped and looked at first Jimmy, then Harker. He was no longer smiling his fake paternal smile.

"…I did not care for the man, and we will not get along if you continue to have a high opinion of the late Captain Englehorn."

"He's gone," Jimmy said. "If there was something between you, you won. He was killed by your own submarine."

Jimmy braced himself for another blow, but it did not come. Dietz had raised his left hand and shook his head at the guard standing behind Jimmy.

"Those words are truer than you know, boy," Dietz said. The Kaiser leaned back against his desk and folded his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Dietz asked.

"On Skull Island?" Jimmy asked.

Dietz burst into laughter. So did the giant, evil looking bronze boy and the men standing behind him.

"Skull _Island_?" Dietz repeated as he slowly got control over his laughter. "Do you not understand where we are? We are on the lost continent of Atlantis, lost because it is on another world."

Jimmy nodded.

"I get the other world part…_Excellency_," Jimmy said. This time, he was struck harder between the shoulders, but he still managed to keep his feet. Apparently the Kaiser and his subjects didn't like a sarcastic form of voice either.

As Jimmy straightened back up, he finished what he was saying.

"But I didn't know it was Atlantis, Excellency."

This time, Jimmy's intonation was more respectful.

Dietz looked at him. Then he looked to Harker and addressed his next question to him.

"My question still stands, what…were…you…doing…here?"

Harker turned and looked at Jimmy. He was plainly terrified, and even though he was about ten years older, he was clearly looking to Jimmy for guidance!

"It's OK, tell him," Jimmy said to Harker. "It's not like we're in the army or anything."

"So this isn't a military operation," Dietz said, turning to Jimmy.

"No, Excellency," Jimmy said.

"So why did you come here?" Dietz said.

"We came _back_ here," Jimmy said. "We were here before to film a movie about the wildlife here. Instead, most of us got killed and we captured a giant gorilla."

Dietz shook his head in disbelief.

"Wait…wait…you say you _captured_ a 'giant gorilla'?" Dietz said, his voice rising in disbelief.

"Well yeah, that's what we do, sometimes, we capture and transport wildlife," Jimmy said. "Excellency."

"This 'giant gorilla', did he have scars on his face and chest?" Dietz asked.

"Yes, he did," Harker said, obviously anxious to be in the Kaiser's good graces.

"This giant gorilla, this _kong_," Dietz asked. "Where did you take him after you captured him, and tell me how he was captured."

The intensity of Dietz's interest chilled him as Jimmy told the story of how they had captured Kong. Something told him not to mention Ann Darrow, so he didn't. But he did describe how Kong had pursued them into the City of the Dead, and of Carl Denham's crazy courage as he ran in front of Kong and threw bottles of chloroform into his face.

Dietz laughed again, this time so hard that tears came to his eyes.

"Boy, do you realize what you and your Mr. Denham did?" Dietz said when he got his voice back. "You 'captured' the greatest military mind I have met other than myself."

"We thought he was just an animal," Harker said. At this, the entire room roared in laughter. When Dietz regained control over his own laughter, he glared around the office until everyone else stopped. That process took bare seconds.

Dietz looked at Jimmy.

"And what did you do with this… 'giant gorilla' after you captured him?" Dietz asked.

"We took him to New York," Harker said.

At this, the room turned deadly silent.

"You _lie_," Dietz said in a voice that was quiet and cold and deadly serious.

"No!" Harker said, his own voice rising in terror in response to Dietz's cold tone. "I'm telling the truth! _Tell _him, Jimmy! We took Kong to New York and then he got free and..."

Whatever else Harker was going to say would never be known. Dietz nodded to his son, and the huge bronze youth strode from his own position to behind Harker. He then grabbed the top of Harker's head, and with one sudden wrench, twisted his neck like a chicken being readied for the cooking pot. There was a grinding sound, followed by a crack. Harker's body flopped to the floor. In a sight that Jimmy would never forget for as long as he lived, Harker's eyes blinked once in seeming surprise to find the connection between his head and body suddenly cut off. There was then a final sigh from between Harker's lips, and his eyes stopped blinking forever.

"He was _lying_," Dietz repeated, the full weight of his cold gaze now resting on Jimmy. Jimmy now hated Kaiser Dietz with an intensity that he had never felt before, except perhaps to the step father who had beat him near to death on several occasions. He wanted nothing more than to take Kaiser Dietz's neck into his hands and squeeze with all his might. But something stopped him from trying. Something that was not fear. Rage had driven fear from Jimmy's mind.

It was a cold pragmatism that told Jimmy that he would be dead before he got anywhere near the Kaiser's throat.

That same pragmatism directed Jimmy to say what he said next.

"Yes, Excellency," Jimmy said. "He was lying."

Dietz nodded.

"Smart boy," he said. "I like you. You have courage.

"We will be talking again. Soon."

Dietz then turned to his son and spoke in German. Then he turned and looked at Jimmy. Dietz then spoke again in English.

"You are being taken to the special thrall quarters, young Mr. Hayes," Dietz said. "Because you have value to me, and, there is someone I wish for you to meet."

The bronze giant then took Jimmy's upper arm and squeezed painfully. Jimmy went with him out of the office, silently saying a prayer for the soul of Mr. John Quincy Harker.

* * *

After the office had been cleared except for Sitter and himself, Dietz turned to his right hand man.

"The guards can not be permitted to discuss what they have heard here today," Dietz said. "Take care of it."

"Yes, Excellency," Sitter said with a bow as he walked out the door.

It was a pity to waste the lives of four young men who had served their Kaiser so well, but it would not do for any citizen of New Prussia to be deluded into thinking that they could return to their home world.

* * *

The giant bronze son of Kaiser Adolf Dietz relased Jimmy's arm in the elevator. Jimmy said nothing. He didn't trust himself to say anything. If the opportunity arose, he would try to kill the big bronze youth for his murder of Harker. But, the opportunity would have to be too good to pass up. Jimmy had made the decision that he would not throw his life away in a failed attempt at revenge.

Jimmy and the youth walked out of a backdoor to the Kaiser's dark skyscraper and the scene was very different from the city streets he had seen during the walk from the submarine. There were factories, made of black stone bricks (probably carved from the cliffs of Skull…Atlantis). Huge smoke stacks belched smoke. Jimmy smelled the familiar scent of steel mills, but it was mixed with the smell of burning wood.

"So you are Jimmy Hayes," the youth said.

Jimmy was startled that the bronze youth spoke to him. Two other men, close the youth's size, and wearing military type uniforms, were walking with him. Jimmy noticed other people walking in groups wearing white cotton work shirts. They had metal collars on their necks. The groups of people with collars, obviously "thralls", were accompanied by men in uniforms like the ones accompanying them.

"I am Adolf Dietz the Second," the youth said. "When my father dies, this will all be mine."

Jimmy tried desperately to come up with something to say that not only sounded civil, but impressed. Unable to do so, he just gave a curt nod.

"How old are you?" Adolf the Second asked.

"Seventeen," Jimmy answered.

"I'm fifteen," Adolf the Second said. "We're close to the same age. Like my father said, you showed courage. I like you. We might become great friends, you and I."

Jimmy wasn't fooled for a minute. Adolf the Second was speaking to him like he might speak to a plucky cricket he kept in a cage.

"You will want to be my friend," Adolf the Second said.

Jimmy doubted that. He doubted that anyone who was a "thrall" or prisoner long survived the younger Adolf's friendship, but he forced himself to nod just the same.

They were now past the factories. There were now shabby buildings that reminded him of the shanty cities that he saw in New York and his home town of Baltimore. In fact, just before he had stowed away on the Venture, his "family" had been kicked out of the tenement they had lived in and had ended up living out of a shelter made up of stacked crates.

Jimmy, Adolf the Second, and their guards all walked past several of the shabby quarters. Beside several of them, women, most of them bronze skinned, some of them with darker skin like the natives in the city of the dead, tended dismal looking cooking fires. They all had collars on them.

Finally, closest to a huge wall that reminded him of the great wall of the city of the dead, except that it appeared to be made out of concrete, there were a series of concrete barracks. Adolf the Second took Jimmy's upper arm in a painful grip again and steered him to the center barrack, which was bigger than the rest.

"Here you are," Adolf the Second said as one of the guards fumbled with keys and opened the door.

Adolf the Second pushed Jimmy inside.

"Don't get too comfortable," he said. "My father will want to be speaking to you again very soon."

After being in the bright sunlight, it took awhile for Jimmy's eyes to adjust to the darkness. What he saw when he could see better was startling. It looked like a well apportioned apartment, with a kitchen, comfortable looking easy chairs, and central to all of it, a large drafting table. Sitting at the drafting table was a man of about medium height, slim and distinguished looking, with the barest hint of silver at his temples. His skin was dark and his eyes had an intelligence and gentleness that reminded Jimmy of another man, one who went by the name of Joshua Hayes.

The man was looking at him with an expression of open curiosity.

"Well," he said. "It has been a very long time since Kaiser Dietz has seen fit to grace me with a visitor."

He stood up, walked up to Jimmy, and extended his hand.

"I'm Bill Hawkins," he said. His accent was clearly American.

"I'm Jimmy, Jimmy Hayes," Jimmy answered.

Hawkins was clearly startled at Jimmy's own American accent.

"An American!" Hawkins exclaimed. "Well, then, Jimmy, you can call me 'Heart'."

* * *

Hilda MacKenzie found Carl Denham leaning against the railing. From her vantage point swinging among the sails of the great ship _Valiant_, which was under her father's command and his father's command before him, she had seen him working as hard as any member of the crew. She asked Kiko, who had listened to the entire conversation (everyone from anywhere on the ship could hear the great voice of the Eye in the Sky), about what had transpired between her father and Mr. Denham. Kiko had said that it appeared as if her father had wanted to like Carl Denham. And it was obviously true that the ship Denham claimed to have been on was sunk by the slavers. The Eye in the Sky would not have lied to them.

Denham was smoking a pipe. He smiled at Hilda as she approached.

"Thank you for saving my life, you and Kiko," Denham said.

"Of course, Mr. Denham," Hilda said. "We be not about allowing men to be eaten by crocodiles."

Denham pulled the pipe out of his mouth and looked at it.

"I never expected to get fresh tobacco here," Denham said.

"Some of the people we trade with grow it," Hilda said. She avoided details because she couldn't be absolutely certain about Mr. Denham and any possible connection he might have with slavers.

Denham nodded.

"So there are people all over here," Denham said.

"All over the north continent, anyway," Hilda replied. "The north continent rings the entire northern hemisphere."

"Are there continents to the south?" Denham asked.

"A couple," Hilda replied. "But there be no people there. At least, no human people."

The less said about the monstrous creatures that inhabited the south lands, the better.

Denham looked around.

"This ship is amazing," Denham said. "I've never seen anything like it."

Hilda thought about the flagship of her people, the monstrous ship named after the ship that brought her first set of ancestors, the _Black Pearl_.

Hilda nodded as Denham smoked his pipe.

"Tell me about your world," Hilda said. "The world our people originally came from."

Denham took a deep breath. He seemed to be trying to gather his thoughts.

"I guess to start off," Denham said. "I should tell you about something called the World War."

And then, Denham began to talk. He talked about a terrible war between nations that involved huge ships, things called "submarines" and "airplanes" and "zeppelins". He spoke of poison air and "tanks".

Denham was an incredible story teller. He spoke of flying one of these "airplanes" (and indeed, she had heard from the Eye in the Sky, and from refugees, that the slavers had devices that they used to fly in the air) during this World War. Then, seamlessly, he talked about another war fought within his own country that ended the practice of slavery.

Unnoticed, her father, her mother, and several members of the crew joined them. Also joining them was Kiko. When Denham finished talking about something called the "Industrial Revolution", he seemed to be startled to see the crowd gathered around him.

He blushed slightly, and Hilda was startled to realize that her face was feeling flushed as well.

"Well, Mr. Denham," Captain MacKenzie said. "After supper, perhaps you can be telling us a bit more about yourself and the world you came from. In particular, we be curious as to what you were doing here if you do not be a slaver."

At that, Carl Denham looked grimly at Kiko.

"I _will_ tell you," Denham said. "And after I do, you may wish to toss me overboard after all.

"I have done some things wrong with my life, and I only ask for the opportunity to try to make thing right."

Helen felt an unexpected burst of fear. But her father simply stood and looked at Mr. Denham.

"Well, Mr. Denham," Captain MacKenzie. "Perhaps you will be wanting to confess your sins to me before you be talking to anyone else, eh?

"But let us wait until after supper, eh?"

* * *

"Heart" Hawkins was very curious about life in the United States since 1917, the year that the RMS Hellenic ran aground on the eastern shore of the great peninsula of Atlantis. So as best he could, Jimmy told Heart about the end of the War, the great influenza epidemic that killed his hale and hearty father and his older sister, about the roaring twenties and the Depression. Heart stopped him once in awhile to ask him questions.

Then Heart asked Jimmy about himself. So Jimmy talked briefly about his rough childhood in Baltimore, his stowing away aboard the Venture, and about his surrogate father, Joshua Hayes. At this, Jimmy stopped and asked Heart a question.

"You didn't by any chance go to Howard University, did you?" asked Jimmy.

Heart looked at Jimmy.

"Why do you ask that?" Heart asked.

"Well, it's just that, Mr. Hayes, he went to Howard and he looks to be about your age and…" Jimmy's voice trailed off.

"So this Mr. Hayes was a negro, like me?" Heart asked.

"Yes, sir," Jimmy replied.

"To answer your question, no, I got my Bachelors and my Masters at Hillman," Heart replied. "I was going to go work for Edison's lab in Menlo Park when the United States got involved in the World War. And that's about all I can tell you about that.

"So, what on Earth brought you here, to 'Freya'?" asked Heart.

Jimmy told Heart about Carl Denham and his movie. How he had made a deal with Englehorn to look for a place called 'Skull Island', and the movie he wished to make there. He told Heart what he didn't tell Kaiser Dietz, about Ann Darrow and her kidnapping, and about how the natives had sacrificed Miss Darrow to Kong. At this point, Heart stopped Jimmy.

"You encountered a _kong_?" Heart asked with intensity. "Dietz thought he had _destroyed_ all of them."

"Not this one, he was big and scarred," Jimmy said. "Dietz said something about this…kong being the best military mind he had ever met."

"Y…you're talking about _General __**Scar**_?" Heart asked with even greater intensity. "That…that's impossible! There is no way in heaven or earth that Dietz would have allowed General Scar to survive."

"Well," said Jimmy. "He must have gotten away somehow, because Dietz seems to be convinced that this big gorilla is his General Scar."

"Remarkable," Heart said. "I think Dietz was more afraid of Scar than he was of anything else in this place, and that's saying something. I have heard that Scar led a kong army that very nearly broke through the first version of the big wall."

"I saw that wall," Jimmy said.

"Hard to miss," Heart said.

"You say that you _heard_ that…Scar led a kong army that nearly broke through the wall?" Jimmy said. "Didn't you see it?"

"Well, I heard it as it was happening, but Dietz doesn't let me out much, so I didn't see a thing," Heart said.

"That must have been horrible," said Jimmy.

"Not as horrible as this," Heart said as he fingered his collar. "My grandmother was born a slave, but she got to see me graduate from Hillman before she died. Now, here I am, right back where she started."

Jimmy didn't know what to say about this, so he didn't say anything.

Eventually, Heart cleared his throat.

"So, continue your story about what brought you here," Heart said.

Jimmy continued with his story. The expedition to recover Ann Darrow, the death of most of the men who went on that expedition, including Mr. Hayes, as they encountered dinosaurs and monsters and eventually the kong Jimmy now knew as General Scar.

"I guess it all makes sense now," Jimmy said. "Scar reacted to us the way he did because he had fought men with guns before. Scar threw Mr. Hayes into a tree right after he cocked his gun."

"So you have been trapped here since then?" Heart asked.

"Oh no," Jimmy said. "Mr. Driscoll, the writer, he went and was able to sneak Miss Darrow away from Ko…Scar. Scar chased them back to the city of the dead, where Mr. Denham and Captain Englehorn had laid a trap for him. Scar tore through the traps like they were nothing but eventually Mr. Denham hit him with some jars of chloroform. Scar went to sleep and we loaded him on the ship and took him to New York."

"Wait a minute," Heart said sharply. "You _took_ General Scar to New York? How on Earth did you do that? This is another world."

"We went back through the mist," Jimmy said.

"The _mist_?" Heart said. "You went back to New York through the _**mist**_?"

"Yeah," Jimmy said. "We took him back to New York where Denham displayed Scar in the Alhambra Theater."

"So you killed him and stuffed him…" Heart said.

"No," Jimmy said. "That was what several of us wanted to do, but Mr. Denham convinced us to keep him alive. That the impact of seeing King Kong live (that's what Mr. Denham called him) would be the biggest show in the history of the world."

"Dear lord," Heart said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "How did_ that_ turn out?"

"Not well," Jimmy said. "General Scar escaped and climbed to the top of the Empire State Building."

"The _what_?" Heart asked.

"The Empire State Building, the tallest building in the world," Jimmy said. "Fortunately, that is where Doc Savage lives…"

"Doc _Savage_," Heart said. "I _know_ that name. There was a man and his son. The son was supposed to be a genius."

"Yeah, it's the _son_," Jimmy said. "He built a big net and used a sleeping gas to recapture General Scar, with the help of his assistant Renny."

"_**Renny**_?" Heart exclaimed, his expression darkening. "Renny _**who**_?"

"_Colonel John_ Renwick," Jimmy answered. "He's one of Doc Savage's assistants. He…"

"_**Shut your mouth**_!" roared Heart. "_**I should have known**_! _**Where did Dietz find you**_? _**Why is he doing this to me**_?"

"What…?" Jimmy started to ask, stunned by the sudden eruption from Heart Hawkins.

"I should have _known_!" Heart exclaimed. "Any kong, much less _the_ kong, surviving _Dietz's_ determination to wipe them out? Obviously absurd! Scar kidnapping a girl only to be captured in turn by a _movie director_, who takes him to _New __**York**_? Scar escapes only to be captured by a '_Doc Savage_'?. And the man who just happens to work with this 'Doctor Savage' just _happens_ to be one of the men I served with in General Brooks' think tank?"

"Actually, General Brooks also works with…" Jimmy began to say.

"_**I told you to shut your mouth**_!" Heart roared again. "It is a sign of how _**stupid**_ Dietz's captivity has made me that I even _**started**_ to believe your story!! Obviously, the old monster thinks I am still holding out on him, so he grooms you to sound like an American to see if you can weedle anything else out of me!

"_Damn_ him! _**Damn him all to Hell**_!"

Jimmy sat in open mouthed shock. This man had served with Renny, and without a doubt that meant he also had served with Ham, Monk, and Long Tom! Of _course_ he would have a very hard time believing that these men just happened to come to this world! How _much_ harder would it be to believe Jimmy's tale of Kong's capture, escape in New York, and recapture?!

And yet…Jimmy started to open his mouth again.

And at that moment, the door to Heart's quarters swung violently inward, as if kicked open. Standing just outside between two very large guards was Kaiser Adolf Dietz.

"Why, Mr. Hawkins," Dietz said mildly. "_Whatever_ is the matter? I could hear you _bellowing_ clear out here."

Without waiting for an answer, Dietz turned to rest his cold gaze upon Jimmy.

"Mr. Hayes, it is time for us to resume our interview."

* * *

Ann Darrow was dozing in the hammock of the Rumbler. Already, the Rumbler felt crowded. She wanted time alone with Jack Driscoll. She felt as if they had a lot to talk about.

The longest time the two of them had been alone together was when they were running through the jungle from a pursuing Kong.

"Planet Terror keeps taking and taking, doesn't it?" Driscoll said.

Driscoll was in the hammock underneath her.

"Terrible things live in this place, but there is real beauty here too," Ann said. "Kong showed us his world as he brought us back to the city of the dead. You should see the tree tops to the north, Jack!

"Besides, some of the worse things I've seen here originally came from our world."

"You speak truer than even you know, Miss Darrow."

Ann and Driscoll both turned and looked at Doc Savage, who had entered the sleeping cabin. Also in hammocks were Monk and Ham, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, probably because of the sudden and horrible death of the pilot, Vogt.

Standing next to Doc Savage, looking absolutely stunned, was his young cousin Pat Savage. Tears were coming out of her eyes. Evidently, her famous cousin had given her some disturbing news. Doc Savage himself looked uncomfortable, and his hands were wrapped in bandages.

"I need to tell you, _all_ of you, what I have surmised," Doc Savage said. "We will have to face a truly great evil if we wish to return home.

"So let me tell you what we know about the self proclaimed Kaiser Dietz and the monstrous city he created, New Prussia. When you know where it is we are going and what we are likely to be facing, you may find yourselves wishing you were simply facing the typical horrors of the jungles of…what do you call it?"

Doc Savage looked briefly at Jack Driscoll.

"Planet Terror?" Driscoll said.

"Yes," Doc Savage said. "Even on Planet Terror, the author of the greatest horror is still man. And as it turns out, this horror has had an intimate effect on the family of my and Pat's mother."

"Wait a minute, Doc," Monk exclaimed. "Mother. As in just _one _mother? Are you _saying_…?"

"Yeah, Monk," Pat said. "Doc told me about this being the homeland of our mothers, and about who our fathers really were. Turns out, though, I had a bombshell of my own, one Dad asked me never to reveal to Doc. I didn't remember where we came from but I _did _know…and I couldn't help myself when Doc told me that we were probably both born here, on this world, in this land…

"Doc and I aren't _really_ cousins. We're half brother and sister. That's why Doc's dad came to America with just the infant Doc, because my Mom had thrown him over for _my_ Dad. And I think when my Dad, Mom, and I came to Canada, we came as refugees from a war. A war started by this Kaiser Adolf Dietz!"

Ann looked at Jack. His expression, she suspected, mirrored his own. It was difficult to shock either one of them any more.

However, Monk and Ham, it was obvious, were stunned into absolute silence.

No one said anything again for quite a while.

Then, slowly and cautiously breaking the uncomfortable silence, Doc started to tell them about what he had learned from the late Lieutenant Vogt about New Prussia.

* * *

_Kong, feeling quite odd, replied to his daughter's message through the ant. As soon as he finished his reply, the ant turned and started to repeat his message in her own way. When the ant met a sister, they touched antennas and the second ant then, repeating the message, turned and went father to the north. _

_So that was how the ants relayed their messages. _

_Kong did not stay any longer to listen to the messages. He started to travel north. Unaccompanied by little crested ape companions, he moved quickly. Before midday, he had already climbed the great cliff that the late Ernst Hoffman would have called the "Great Break". Once he was up the cliff and in the great forest, Kong's progress was even faster. He climbed the nearest huge tree and began to travel an arboreal route. His progress was extremely rapid as he swung from huge branch to great vine to huge branch. _

_By sundown, Kong had long passed the inlet where the little apes' ocean craft had let him off. He settled down to eat, and made just the most basic of nests. He silently endured the evening rain falls. _

_At sunrise, he ate again, not even stopping to watch the sun rise. By mid afternoon, he had reached his destination. _

_He was at the beginning of the peninsula. To the east were huge mountains, including both active and snow capped dormant volcanoes. He was in a forest where the trees were even larger than they were north of the Great Break. _

_And when Kong reached his destination, there was a crowd waiting for him. _

_Kong was stunned. There were at least a dozen family groups. He recognized most of the silverbacks as comrades in the war against the little apes with the aircraft and the deadly weapons. _

_So, Kong had not been the only survivor of that horrible conflict. He felt a great and fierce joy and a great and fierce guilt in equal measure. The crowd of kong were all bellowing and roaring at him, and at first he couldn't make out what they were saying. But, Kong thought it would be easy to guess. How they must hate him! Kong had nearly destroyed them all in his quest for vengeance!_

_But then, even has he spotted his eldest daughter standing next to a very young silverback who was nevertheless the largest he had ever seen, he realized that they were not saying what he thought they were saying. _

"_**The warrior patriarch has returned!**_"

"_**The wisest of mothers was right! Her father lives!**__"_

"_**What a great day this is!**__"_

_Kong didn't know why his daughter was being called the "wisest of mothers", but he felt a fierce pride for her all the same. _

_The kong, who generally lived in small family groups except in times of interspecies war, did not have a word for what Kong was seeing and hearing on this, the greatest afternoon of his life for many decades. However, the little apes would have had the appropriate terminology for this moment. _

_Kong, the warrior patriarch of his people, was being cheered. _

Next

Chapter 22

Doc and Pat, Pat and Doc

And then…

Chapter 23

Fathers and Daughters

And…

Chapter 24

Reunions Part 1

**When these chapters are done, we will be in the home stretch. But like I said, it will be a long time before I start on Chapter 22. **


	22. Chapter 22 Doc and Pat, Pat and Doc

**Well, I am back if only for a short time. I am in between rewrites on what RebeccaAnn has aptly dubbed my "real writing", and while the new school year has me busy, I still find myself with a little window to continue this story. This chapter is told entirely in flashbacks, except for the very end. **

**Also, we are moving into a transitional period of this story. I've spread characters around the Atlantean peninsula, and it will take time for some of them to travel to New Prussia, where the final chapters will take place. As a result, sometimes days and maybe even weeks will pass between and even within chapters until everyone gets to where they are going. **

**To any big fans of Doc Savage, I am making every effort to portray him in the style of Lester Dent and the rest of the Street and Smith crew. However, I am obviously not following the outline created by the great Phillip Jose Farmer's **_**Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life**_** or Larry Widen's **_**Doc Savage, the Arch Enemy of Evil**_**, and there are some contradictions with accepted Doc Savage canon. **

**Doc Savage was the product of a time where the behaviorism of people like John Watson (the father of modern behaviorism, not Sherlock Holmes' fictional biographer) suggested that a person was born a blank slate, and could be turned into a superman if he was reared correctly. The idea of taking a child and relentlessly teaching him every waking moment to be the ultimate in every possible endeavor he might undertake probably looks radical and creepy from our modern sensibilities, but in the 1930's it was taken more seriously. Nevertheless, I do not see Clark Savage Senior as an entirely benevolent figure, and this chapter reflects this. **

**Also, Professor George Edward Challenger, like Conan Doyle's more famous creation, Sherlock Holmes, was a series character (in fact, it is arguable that Challenger replaced Holmes as Conan Doyle's series character of choice). I have shamelessly shredded Doyle's own continuity by bumping Challenger off before his other adventures (and for that matter before his wife), and I also set The Lost World a decade and a half earlier than it was written and set (Challenger's adventures ran into the 1920's, and Roxton mentions flying "aeroplanes" in **_**The Lost World**_, **published in 1912). In spite of this, I couldn't resist bringing into the story Challenger's daughter, Enid Challenger, from Doyle's novel **_**The Land of the Mist**_, **which obviously did not happen in the continuity of this story. **

**And Doctor Elizabeth Saint John, I am proud to say, is mine. **

Chapter 22

Doc and Pat, Pat and Doc

_March 22, 1921, a mountainside in Alberta, Canada_

By the time Pat Savage first met Doc Savage, he was already world famous. She was barely 5, and he was barely 20. Even so, Clark Savage Junior had already been a medical doctor for 3 years, and in fact had just earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard in December.

Young Pat, sharp far beyond her years, immediately noticed the resemblances between her and the younger Doctor Savage: The bronze skin and hair (which, contrary to public perception, was not due to hours in the sunlight), the unconscious and graceful economy of movement, and the multi-colored eyes that seemed to whirl in the sunlight. Only one other person looked like Pat and Doc, and that was her mother.

The woman whose ashes her father was about to release to the wind.

Pat had loved her mother. Gentle, yet strong, she was nearly a head taller than her father. She spoke English with a lilting accent very different from her father's Irish brogue.

She and her father, Alex Savage, clearly loved one another. And yet, there was always a sadness between them. When she was old enough to ask about it (that is, when she was 2), Pat asked them both why they were sad sometimes.

Pat's father simply turned his head and gruffly said that he needed to do something (water the sheep, fix the fence, go to town, something always came up). Pat's mother simply smiled and said that she missed her home, but that she was happy to be alive and where she was.

And they _were_ happy, until Pat's mother, Annalee Savage, started to have trouble breathing. They moved west, leaving the sheep ranch for Vancouver, and her mother seemed to get better for a little while.

But then she got worse, and then she died.

Pat, even young 5 year old Pat, had finished her crying in Vancouver. She was dry eyed as she watched her father open the urn and release her mother's ashes to the wind. The dark grey cloud dissipated into the lighter grey sky, and it was over. Mrs. O'Hara's beefy but kind hand patted Pat awkwardly on her shoulder, but the young girl hardly even registered the sincere if rough attempt at comfort. She was looking for her famous cousin who shared her last name and her bronze skin.

But he was already gone.

* * *

_March 24, 1921, the office of Clark Savage, Senior in New York City_

"You went to the funeral?" Doc's father asked. "Even after I told you not to, you went to the funeral."

"Alex Savage is the only family you've ever mentioned, other than my mother in the 'land behind the mist'," Doc said. Doc seldom raised his voice to anyone, much less his own father, who he had been raised to respect, if not worship. But Doc's voice was raised now. "I've _never_ asked you questions. Not when you took me to the Wakanda and had me taught as their royal family was taught. Not when you had me study science or philosophy before breakfast, and martial arts after lunch. Not when you enrolled me in Columbia University when I was 8 years old. Not even when you went to medical school at Harvard and had me study alongside you when I was 10. I have done everything you have ever wanted of me, with no complaint or questions, and no father has even come close to wanting as much from his son as you have wanted from me.

"You shaped me to be a scientist, to be an explorer. Did you think you could make me turn it off when I found out that you had surviving family?"

Clark Savage Senior sighed and pushed back from his desk. His skin was sun darkened, and he was a tall man who still had a hard ranginess to him. Once his hair had been ginger in color, but it was now a bright white that made his skin appear darker. His bushy eyebrows, also white, were particularly striking. It had only been during the last year that Clark Savage Senior had taken to wearing spectacles. These he now took off of his nose and rested on his desk while he brought his right thumb and forefinger to rub the bridge of his nose.

"You are right, I suppose," the elder Doctor Savage said with a sigh. "It's just…Alex and I are not very close. In fact, we had something of a falling out. I'm actually ashamed of him if you want to know the truth."

"What is your relationship to him?" Doc asked.

"_He _says he's my brother," the elder Doctor Savage said. "I prefer to think of him as a distant cousin."

"He has red and white hair, and his skin has the same sort of deep tan that yours does," Doc said. "But other than the fact that he looks strong in the way that you look strong, you don't look all that related.

"Which is curious considering that his little girl could easily pass for my sister."

Doc was startled at the change in his father's expression. A hard craftiness chilled his eyes.

"Did you talk to her?" Clark Savage Senior asked his son. "Did you talk to _him_?"

"No, of course not," Doc said, even as he now fervently wished that he had. For the first time ever, he felt his trust in his father waver.

"Good," the elder Doctor Savage said. "Nothing good can come of it."

* * *

_July 14, 1928, Seattle, Washington_

The second time Pat saw Doc Savage, it was quite by accident. She was on vacation with her father, and he was taking her to see the docks. Jellyfish, looking like discarded paper, floated in the water, marked here and there by rainbow oil stains. Other people walked along the deck. There was the smell of popcorn and fish, both raw and cooked, in the air.

Suddenly, the twelve year old girl heard screams of disbelief. Her father's strong hand clasped her shoulder and began to pull her back, and suddenly she saw four men running towards them along the deck. The man in front was extremely young, really more of a boy, and dressed completely in bright electric blue. Everything matched; his shirt, his pants, his hat, and his shoes. He was tall and graceful, and he weaved in and out of the crowd like a dancer. As he ran by Pat and her father, the girl felt her father's hand tighten even further on her shoulder until it hurt. The man in the matching clothes stopped for a moment to look at Pat, then with a growl that sounded like that of a wild beast, he ran on.

Running after the man in blue was her famous cousin, Doc Savage. He weaved in and out of the crowd with just as much graceful ease as the man in blue, even though he was much larger. If it wasn't for the crowd of people he was weaving in and out of, Doc wouldn't have looked all that big from a distance. As it was, though, he was a giant in a world of elves. Pat smiled up at Doc Savage as he approached, but Doc didn't even look at her as he ran by. Neither did the mid sized older man in the dapper black suit and cane, who moved through the crowd with a grace that almost, but not quite, matched that of the first two men to run by.

Then came the fourth man. At least, Pat thought it was a man, but she wasn't sure. Clad in a short sleeved white shirt that left his very hairy arms bare, the squat and long armed man didn't even bother to dance through the crowd. He roared and bellowed and the crowd responded, scrambling to get out of his way. However, when the man ran by Pat and her father he slowed down and looked intently down at the twelve year old girl (although since she was already quite tall for her age, it was actually almost eye to eye). The speaking voice of the ape like creature that sort of ran like a man was totally at odds with the bellowing noise he had been making, as he said in a high, soft and downright squeaky voice:

"Huh, I never thought I'd see anyone who looks so much like…"

The sarcastic voice of the dapper man interrupted whatever the red haired ape man would have said next.

"C'mon, you big stupid ape!" the dapper man yelled. "We're gonna lose the both of them if you stand around entertaining the crowd. Save it for the circus!"

"Shuddup, shyster!" the ape like man roared, his voice reverting to a deep bellow. "Pretend they're ambulances, and you won't lose them!"

And just like that, the red haired ape man rejoined the chase, leaving a stunned group of summer vacationers standing and muttering among themselves.

"That was him," Pat said. "That was _Doc_!"

Pat then started to pepper her father with more sophisticated versions of the questions she had asked since age five. Why did Doc look like her and her mother? Why wouldn't Doc visit them, and why didn't they visit him in New York? So far as she knew, Doc and _his_ father were the only family they had left.

Alex Savage knelt in front of his daughter, his big, lined Irish face suffused with a grief she hadn't seen since her mother had taken her last labored breath. Pat immediately felt horrible.

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" she cried. "I didn't mean to make you think of Mommy!"

Alex Savage's expression changed again as he chuckled and then hugged his daughter close.

"I _like_ to think about Mommy!" he said. "Even when it makes me sad, because when you remember what you lost, you remember what you had."

"I don't understand," Pat said.

"You will," her father said. "Anyway, I was thinking about someone else."

* * *

_July 15, 1928, the house of Alex Savage in Vancouver, BC_

Pat woke to hear her father's raised voice, obviously talking into the phone.

"…ton, you will never guess who I saw yesterday," Alex Savage said.

There was a brief moment of silence

"Yes, that's right, I saw your son, chasing your failed Russian protégé, by the way, along the Seattle docks," her father said. "Did he know who he was really chasing, by the way?"

Her father chuckled bitterly.

"I thought not."

Pat knew that her father must be talking to his brother, or at least the man he said was his brother, Clark Savage Senior, the father of Doc Savage! Pat sat up quietly but quickly in her bed. Her cat Faust meowed briefly in protest as he was forced off of her chest.

"_I __**did**__ hold up our end of the bargain_!" Alex Savage roared, then, probably because he knew his twelve year old daughter was in the next room, his voice quieted even though the intense anger did not. "I _explained_ this. We didn't have a choice but to come back here, I wasn't going to have my family slaughtered, or worse, turned into slaves. And I couldn't go back to England, I had nothing there anymore. As for Ireland, well, I had nothing there as well since the rest of my family left the country to come _here_. We still stayed out of your way. We let you raise the boy, _her_ boy, the way that you wanted to raise him. As for why he came to the funeral, you have only yourself to blame for that. _You're_ the reason he even knows about us. Pat and I had _nothing_ to do with that."

Pat's quick mind hummed. "_Her_ boy." Neither her father or her mother talked much about when she was born, much less where, but listening to her father now it sounded far away and dangerous. "_Her_ boy." Her father had evidently made a promise to Clark Savage Senior to stay away from the boy who would become Doc Savage, the legendary Man of Bronze. "_Her_ boy." Why would her father have made that promise? Why did her father never talk about the man he called his brother? "_Her_ boy." Why did Clark Savage Senior not want his son at her mother's funeral unless…

Her father's voice, when it spoke on the phone now, had become nothing more than an intense whisper. She now had to strain to hear.

"Your sins…catching up, Rox…" then, in a slightly louder whisper… "We'll stay out of your way if you stay away from us. I don't want your mistakes coming back to haunt my girl.

"Yes, yes, goodbye," Pat heard the phone's receiver placed back in its cradle. "You old bastard."

Pat heard her father stand up from the table. She heard the clink of glass as he fiddled in the liquor cabinet, the pouring of liquid and the gasp that arose when her father took a sudden, burning drink. Then she heard his shuffling footsteps as he approached the door to her bed room. She wanted to lay her head down and pretend to sleep. She didn't want to confront the angry man she had just heard on the phone

But she couldn't pretend. The question burned in her. Her father said that Doc was her cousin, which of course he would have been if her father and his were brothers.

But Doc looked like her mother, not her father, and Alex Savage did not sound particularly brotherly on the phone just now. And when Alex Savage opened the door to his daughter's room, Pat's question bubbled through her mouth before she could even think of stopping it.

"Is Doc my _brother_? Was Mommy his mother too?"

The stricken look on her father's face provided all the answers she needed.

* * *

_March 22, 1932, Clark Savage Senior's home, New York_

Doc looked out the large back window to the woods and the Hudson River beyond. Behind him, the house was empty. Every piece of furniture had been auctioned off with contributions made to the elder Savage's favorite charities. Every bit of usable equipment had been put in the Hildalgo Trading Company Warehouse, whose lower levels extended deep into the bedrock upon which New York City rested. The only thing left in the house other than himself and dust and memories was the box Doc held in his hand: A box that had rested within a safe, the combination to which Doc had received from the family lawyer (_not_ Ham Brooks) after he had returned from avenging the death of his father in the Valley of the Vanished. It was a safe that obviously Don Robio Gorro, his father's late murderer, had not known to look for.

Doc squatted on the floor. His friends, his "brothers", had gone home, and he had waited until after they left to go to the hidden safe and open it. This box had been the only thing in it.

Doc opened the box. There were only two things in it. One was an envelope addressed by a small and precise feminine hand. The other was a photograph. The photograph was of his father as a young man.

Doc pulled out the envelope and reached in. There was a single page handwritten letter within it.

_April 16, 1900_

_Lord John Roxton_

_c/o the Explorer's Club_

_New York, NY_

_Dear Lord Roxton,_

_Thank you for your note of condolence regarding the death of my husband. I appreciate your efforts to convince me that my husband was being truthful about his claims to have explored a prehistoric land. I assure you that I was already well convinced of my husband's honesty. My husband's interest in telling the truth was so intense that it frankly bordered upon being a fault, and beyond that we had no secrets from one another. I personally expect that it was your collective agreement to deceive the public as to the actual location of "the Plateau" that contributed to the agitation that killed him, rather than the fact that he wasn't believed at all. The strain of being dishonest would have been enormous for him. Dishonesty did not come as easily to my George as it comes to some others, Lord Roxton. _

_Rest assured that I not only know where the Plateau __actually__ is, but I have __no__ interest in claiming any treasures, even and particularly of a natural historical sort, that you and Mr. Malone may find there. Thus, you may rest assured that I will take your note for what, on first blush, it was, a note of condolence to a grieving widow. _

_Very Truly Yours,_

_Jessica deBouvier Challenger_

Doc looked at the letter, his hand shaking. He had heard of John Roxton, of course, the man who had vanished in a return trip to the mythical plateau. But what was his father doing with a letter to the famous, or was that infamous, adventurer?

Even before he reached into the box and pulled out his father's picture, Doc suspected that he knew the answer.

He turned the picture over.

Written in a hand he did not recognize was the legend Lord John Roxton, 1892.

Trilling filled the empty house.

* * *

_March 23, 1932, the clinic of Doctor Elizabeth Saint John_

His father's friend and fellow physician, Elizabeth Saint John, opened the door to her clinic. He followed her past her waiting area and clinic rooms into the apartment in the rear. The living room was a comfortable space, with bookshelves crammed with medical texts. The woman, he knew, was about his father's age, but looked closer to his own. Dr. Saint John gestured to a red chair that he knew from experience was quite comfortable.

"Would you like some water, Clark?" Dr. Saint John asked. Like himself, she did not drink alcohol.

"Only if you are having some, Dr. Saint John," Doc answered. Dr. Saint John nodded, and, probably sensing his impatience to get started, sat down in a blue chair opposite. Her bright blue eyes seemed to look through him.

"I am sorry for the loss of your father," Dr. Saint John said.

"Thank you," Doc said.

"You want to know if I knew his original identity, I take it?" Dr. Saint John asked.

"Your question answers mine," Doc said, his voice betraying nothing of the agitation he was feeling.

"I _am_ sorry, Clark," Dr. Saint John said. "Your father wanted to make a fresh start after his return from…wherever it was he went. I first met him in London, where I was doing my residency with Joseph Saint John."

"Your father-in-law and expert on Ashcraft's Syndrome."

"Correct," Dr. Saint John replied. "I met your father about three years before the Challenger expedition, where I became involved in an affair that also involved your father and 'The Great Detective'. When he came to New York in '03, your father sought me out to help him get established. I am not certain why he insisted on changing his identity, I think it had something to do with believing that it was better if the world thought that John Roxton was gone."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Clark. Your father was changed man after he became Clark Savage Senior. John Roxton was cocky and reckless and liked adventure. Clark Savage Senior was a secretive man who revealed little to his friends and nothing to anyone else."

"Did he tell you about 'the land beyond the mists'? Was it Challenger's Plateau?"

Dr. Saint John shook her head.

"Probably. I don't know. He said that where you were born was a secret that he would take to his grave. And frankly, once I helped to get him set up here, he took you and left again, and didn't return for another three years."

"He went to the Wakanda."

"_Really_?" Dr. Saint John exclaimed. "I didn't know that. I've met a Wakandan agent or two in my time, but I have little idea what the actual country is like."

"I…I can't tell you," Doc said. "I made a promise."

"And unfortunately, _I_ made a promise to your father. I didn't _agree_ with it, but I kept it all the same. He said that he would tell you who he was when the time came. Evidently it never did."

"It did," Doc said. "It's obvious he didn't want me to know until after he died."

Doc's voice was the same, careful and calmly modulated. Within, however, his emotions were raw and he felt what would be in any other man a blinding rage. Doc's personal code forbade striking _anyone_ in anger, and _never_ a woman under anycircumstances (and in this case, he faced the one woman in the world who could possibly, indeed probably, beat him in hand-to-hand combat). Here was a woman who for decades had given her life to help the sick poor in New York. A woman whose honesty and commitment to the weak and the right rivaled his own. And yet, she had kept his father's secret from him. He realized that although he was more frustrated with and disappointed in his father, he would never look at Dr. Saint John, his first medical mentor, the same way again.

"There is someone else you might talk to about the Challenger Expedition," Dr. Saint John said. The habitual tone of her voice, like his, was unnaturally calm.

"You're referring to Enid Challenger," Doc Savage said. "The daughter of the late George and Jessica Challenger. I have a call into her newspaper in London."

"I have her _home_ number," Dr. Saint John said. "And I have taken the liberty of calling her and asking her to accept a call from you. She has agreed."

* * *

_March 24, 1932, the 86__th__ Floor of the Empire State Building, New York_

Doc listened to the line ring. It was the fifth time he had tried to call the number Dr. Saint John had given him. This time, he heard the line pick up.

"Hallo?" said a clipped, feminine voice.

"This is Dr. Clark Savage, Junior, calling for Miss Enid Challenger," Doc said.

"Yes," the woman said. "I am she, and I have been expecting your call."

"What can you tell me about my father?" Doc asked.

"Not much," Enid said. "I never met the man. In fact, truth be told I never actually met _my_ father, he died before I was 6 months old."

"Can you tell me anything?" Doc asked.

"I can tell you a little about the expedition, at least what my mother told me," Enid said. "And since I became a journalist, I have tried to follow up on what my mother told me, with very little success.

"The Plateau described in Malone's memoirs was not located in South America. It was in fact located somewhere in the Atlantic, which I know sounds daft. What is even more odd is that the land is reputed to only be accessible when a mist appears over the water. If the sky is clear, the land doesn't exist. I know that doesn't make sense but that is what my mother claimed, and she insisted that Father would have been honest with her about that."

"Did you try to find anyone who went on the expedition?" Doc asked.

"Well of course, it would be the story of the century, if not the millennium. And I _did_ find Malone, and that led me to Roxton. Malone was willing to talk to me some, but not on the record, and he didn't give me anything that I could use. Roxton, your father, wouldn't talk to me at _all_. Neither, as I recall, would _you_."

Doc blasted himself for a fool. He did not like to talk directly to journalists, and tended to ignore all requests for interviews. He found being mysterious aided him in his work. Besides, he was a naturally private man.

Now, his unofficial policy had come back to bite him on the backside. If he had talked to Enid Challenger, he would have known who his father was while he was still alive to be questioned.

"Where did you find Malone?" Doc asked, although he already anticipated the answer.

"In British Columbia," Enid Challenger replied. "He goes by the name of Alex Savage."

* * *

_May 14, 1932, Pat Savage's new apartment, New York_

Pat watched as her brother carried the last crate into her apartment. He balanced it on his right shoulder, carrying it as easily as any other man might carry the crate if it contained nothing but air, rather than 200 pounds of books.

Doc looked at her, waiting for her to tell him where to set the crate down.

"The first bedroom," Pat said. "That's where I'm going to put my study."

With the death of her father, guardianship, albeit temporarily, had shifted to Doc until she turned 18, which would happen in September of next year. As it was, she already had her high school diploma (in fact, it was more than two years old) and her beautician's license. Doc said that he would help to set her up in New York and pay for her own shop. Pat promised him that she would pay him back, and she would. Several of those books Doc had just carried in were on economic theory.

As Doc carried the crate to the first bedroom, Pat went to the refrigerator and poured her "cousin" a glass of ice water.

"_You are never to tell him," her father had said to Pat the night she discovered that Doc Savage was her brother._ _"I hope his own father has the decency to tell him soon enough, but it is not __**our**__ place to do that. I promised him, and since I took your mother from him the __**least**__ I can do is to honor my promise to him. __**Promise**__ me you won't tell him, Pat. __**Promise**__ me!" _

"_I promise, Daddy."_

Doc returned and took the glass from Pat's hand gratefully.

"Pat, I need to talk to you," he said.

Pat nodded.

"I know you miss your father, and he sounds like he was a good man. I will try to be good to you and for you. We are the last remaining members of our family. After my father's death I had so wanted to speak to you and your father, to establish a connection with the two of you. It is horrible indeed that your own father was murdered so soon after mine."

Pat nodded again. Deep within herself, she hoped, indeed prayed, that Doc already knew the secret that her father had burdened her with four years ago in Vancouver.

"I…I travel the world, Pat. I won't always be here, and this is a big and sometimes dangerous city, not at all like rural British Columbia. I have a long time friend of my father's who will watch over you when I am gone. You will like Dr. Saint John, she is an independent woman much like you yourself wish to become, but I warn you, you can't fool her and strongly suggest that you don't try. I will be here as often for you as I can, but I will be gone quite a lot."

"Why don't you take me with you, Doc?" Pat asked.

"The places I go, and the trips I make, are no place to take a 16 year old girl, even one as capable as you."

"When you were my age, you were a surgeon in the World War."

"You will never know the price I paid to be able to do that," Doc said, the slightest hint of emotion creeping into his voice. "Your father allowed you an independence and freedom that probably causes you to overestimate your own abilities. This is a big and dangerous city, Patricia. Never forget that."

Doc took a sip of his ice water.

"There is one other thing I need to tell you," he said.

_**Please **__let this be it, _Pat thought. _**Please **__let him tell me that we are brother and sister._

"You know that there is some confusion as to how closely our fathers were related to one another," Doc said.

"Yeah," Pat said.

"Your father said he was my father's brother, while my father said he was your father's cousin," Doc said.

"Yeah," Pat said.

"We are not related through our fathers at all," Doc said. "We are related on our mothers' side."

"Yeah," Pat said. "I kinda figured that. You look like her, not like my Dad."

Doc nodded to himself, as if what she said confirmed something that he had long suspected.

"So, you know that our mothers were related, probably sisters."

_God __**damn **__it! _thought Pat.

* * *

_December 31, 1933 The Land Beyond the Mists/The Plateau/Skull Island/The Atlantean Peninsula on the Great Northern Continent of the planet Freya/Terror_

Pat sat on top of the Rumbler and watched the huge saurapods feast on the huge trees. The farther north they moved, the bigger the trees had gotten. About thirty yards away to the front of her, T'maru and Johnny were standing and watching the dinosaurs through binoculars, talking excitedly between themselves.

Pat heard the hatch open, and turned to see her "cousin" Doc emerge. Doc closed the hatch and turned the handle so that it latched.

"Pat, I need to talk to you," Doc said. His expression was serious (but then again, it was always serious). However, Pat felt a twinge of apprehension at his tone.

The apprehension was justified, as Doc told her the secrets that their fathers had shared between them. She stared at him in disbelief.

When he finished, she said:

"Do Monk, Ham and the others know?"

"Yes."

Pat felt white hot anger well up inside her.

"_**How**__ could you tell __**them**__ before you told __**me**__? __**Why**__ didn't you __**tell**__ me when I first came down to New York after Dad died?_ _Some damned sense of family __**you**__ have, big brother!"_

At first, Pat was so angry, so upset, and felt so betrayed that she didn't even realize what she had just revealed.

Not until she saw the way Doc stared at her. When he spoke, his voice was as coolly modulated as ever. But even a man with the legendary self control of Doc Savage could not keep the pain from his face.

"I _should_ have," Doc said. "I should have told you. I kept waiting to get more answers. When Carl Denham brought back Kong, I knew that I would be getting them. That's _why_ I brought you.

But you _are_ right, Pat, I should have told you much earlier, but I didn't and I am so _very_ sorry."

So saying, Doc Savage dropped off the Rumbler, landing easily on his feet. He walked to a small tree, one about twelve feet high. Then, he started to strike it with his fists. Bark flew from the tree, and then the hard wood within started to shatter. The tree shuddered and fell over, literally chopped down by Doc's fists. T'maru and Johnny turned and with simultaneous yells ran over to Doc, who was now pounding on the stump. Pat, who was stunned into immobility, realized that Doc had punched his hands bloody, and that the red liquid was now _flying_ from his hands.

T'maru, the Black Panther of the Wakanda, and William Harper Littlejohn each grabbed one of Doc's powerful arms. Doc wrenched his right arm away from Johnny momentarily, but apparently even he could not so easily disengage himself from T'maru. As Doc tried to free his left arm from the Wakandan Prince's grip, Johnny managed to grab hold of his friend's right arm once again. Doc stopped resisting and stood immobile, like a statue.

Pat shook herself loose from her immobility. She jumped off the roof of the Rumbler, landing on all fours. Then she was up like a cat and running to her cousin (no, her _**brother**_!). She realized what was wrong.

He hadn't realized that he and Pat shared the same mother. _He was hoping that his mother was still alive, that he would be able to meet her_! And even now, in his disappointed grief, he had directed no angry recriminations towards the secret, the _awful_ secret, she had kept from him. No, he had simply apologized for his own secrets.

"_Go_!" she commanded T'maru and Johnny. Both men looked at her uncertainly. Johnny's expression was almost comical in how terrified it looked.

"It's OK," Pat said. "He needs me! _Me_!"

T'maru nodded and jerked his head to Johnny. The two men made their way back to the Rumbler.

Doc's face was wet with tears. Seeing such raw emotion in Doc's face was both terrifying and a profound relief.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Pat."

"Shhhhhh!" Pat whispered back. "I'm _sorry_ too! I'm _really_ sorry. I didn't mean to tell you…I mean, I didn't mean to tell you like _that_!"

And for the first time since his death, Pat Savage thought ill of her father, the man she knew as Alex Savage, but who also had been known as Edward Malone, journalist and international Rugby star!

"No more secrets between us, OK?" Pat whispered. "No more secrets."

"_No_ more secrets," Doc agreed. When Pat looked up at him, he was smiling gently through his tears.

The Doc Savage Code as Presented in Doc Savage Magazine

"_Let me strive every moment of my life, to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it._

"_Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice._

"_Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage._

"_Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do._

"_Let me do right to all, and wrong no man." _

Next

Chapter 23

Fathers and Daughters


	23. Chapter 23 Fathers and Daughters

Chapter 23

Fathers and Daughters

_One hour after finding definite proof that he was not the last of his kind, Kong was ready to go off on his own again. _

_The tumult had not died down. First had come the expressions of near worship (what the little apes would have called "cheering"), then groups of silverbacks had broken off to beat their chests and perform tandem stiff armed and legged charging displays in his honor. Meanwhile, females brought their children to touch him as if he was the most precious thing in the world. He was peppered with questions, and before he could even begin to answer one there were five more thrown out to him. _

_Kong was happy, deliriously so, to find that his people had not only survived, but apparently thrived, in the aftermath of the disastrous war. But as he looked out at the dozens of kong surrounding him, the only family he recognized was the daughter her mother had named Little Flower, but who now was apparently called the Wisest of Mothers. He looked at the crowd to see if he could recognize any inherited features, from his daughter or her mother (his first mate) or even his own. Here and there, he saw those who he thought might be his descendents, but he wanted a quiet moment to find out for sure. Family was very important to the kong, and to a male kong that meant leaving a legacy of children and grandchildren. And although Kong himself had just days before believed that he was the only one of his kind left, now that he found that he wasn't, he wanted to rediscover what legacy he had left through his surviving daughter. _

_Eventually, his daughter approached him and started to groom him. Her mate, the very young looking silverback who was nevertheless the largest he had ever seen, came over and Kong began to groom him. It was the ritual beginning of the admission of an aging silverback into his daughter's family. The displaying silverbacks all went and started to gather their own families, and they all began to climb the huge trees to feed. Feeding took up half of a kong's waking hours, every day. The huge bodies needed huge amounts of food. _

_A young black blacked male, probably no more than 10, came up and started to groom the huge silverback. _

"_Is he yours?" Kong conversationally asked the huge young silverback._

"_Yes, patriarch," the young silverback said. _

_His daughter reached over and touched the young silverback. _

"_**You**__ are the patriarch, now, Tumbler," she said. "The correct form of address is now 'mate uncle'."_

_Kong gaped at the young silverback in disbelief. The last time he had seen Tumbler, he was an awkward black back, not even 20 years old. He had been the youngest of those who went to fight by his side, and he was less than half the great size he was now. Now that he knew who the huge silverback was, he could see the resemblance to the young awkward adolescent boy he had known 10 years before. _

"_I will __**never**__ fail to show your father the respect he deserves," Tumbler rumbled. He sounded slightly hurt. "Your father saved me, he saved us __**all**__. I will __**never**__ expect him to submit to me."_

_Kong looked at his daughter's new patriarch, half touched by Tumbler's respect for him, and half irritated by his flouting of tradition. _

_However, when he spoke, he responded to something else Tumbler had said. _

"_**Saved**__ you?" Kong rumbled back. "I thought I had __**killed**__ you all!"_

"_You didn't, father," his daughter, now named the Wisest of Mothers, said. "When you called the final retreat, and you set out to cover it, you succeeded. You can see the evidence of it here, in the trees all around you."_

_Kong grunted but otherwise continued to groom Tumbler, the patriarch of his new family. Kong was a traditionalist._

"_What__** happened**__ to you father?" the Wisest of Mothers asked. "Where did you go? What did you do? We thought __**you**__ had died!" _

_Kong looked up at the trees, suddenly realizing that he was famished. _

"_I will tell you," he said. "But first, let's go up and eat."_

_And so, they climbed the nearest gigantic tree, which in turn supported other, smaller trees in its branches, many with succulent fruits and leaves. As they started to eat, Kong started to tell his story. Because the kong spoke using combinations of tones and variations in volume, rather than through shaping of their vocal tract, they could eat and speak at the same time. _

"_When it became apparent that we would not be able to hold our position at the wall, and when they brought yet more of their dangerous weapons and their aircraft, I called the retreat," Kong said. "You were both there." _

_Kong's daughter was between children and not yet pregnant, so she had joined the fight._

"_So we started to retreat to the north. I lagged behind, and I was joined by Broken Brow and Four Fingers and the Rage Brothers, and by your uncle, my brother by father, Scarback. I used my sling to knock some of the aircraft out of the sky, but others flew by, and no one else could hit them. We destroyed some of their landcraft with our slings, but some of the aircraft came back and hit us with fire spears and bullets. The Small Death came and killed Scarback before my eyes. By that time, the others were already lost, and the flames from the fire spears were cutting me off from the fight. And since so many of the aircraft had gotten past us, I assumed they must have gotten you all. _

"_Retreating from the flames, I called out in a voice I knew the little apes could not hear, but I received no reply. I knew I was now alone, so I ran."_

"_To get __**away**__?" Tumbler said, as if he could not believe that Kong would have willingly fled the battlefield. _

"_No," Kong said. "I was __**certain**__ that I was going to die. I decided that if the little apes were going to kill me, I would see to it that I would die with the rest of the family they had killed._

"_But when I arrived home, they never came for me. The only little apes that I encountered came from the colony we used to get our wet nurses from, and in fact they still offered me their young females, and killed them if I refused to take them. _

"_Years passed. I think I went a little mad from the isolation. At least until __**she**__ came."_

"_Until __**who**__ came?" asked the Wisest of Mothers. _

* * *

The interior of the Rumbler was extremely uncomfortable. Even though the Rumbler had some sort of air circulating and cooling system, the system was overwhelmed with ten people living in it. Pretty Ann Darrow had heard Long Tom grumble that the Rumbler was designed to carry six people, seven maximum.

Ann had tried to make herself useful, but there wasn't much for her to do. Doctor Savage and his team all knew what their jobs and roles were. T'maru and even Pat seemed to know how to fit in, but she and Jack were left to flatten themselves against a wall or lie in hammocks and otherwise just try to stay out of the way.

Now it was early evening. Ann had stayed in her hammock, and now Monk, Ham, and Renny were all lying in their own hammocks. Monk and Renny snored loudly, while Ham, belying his cultured air when he was awake, snored the loudest of all. Ann was hot and with the sound of snoring filling the sleeping cabin, sleep was impossible. Jack had agreed to take first shift awake (although as he had said in an aside to Ann, he had no idea what he would be doing, if anything at all).

Ann dropped quietly off the top bunker. Pat had gotten her night clothes, a soft cotton top and matching pants. She padded quietly by Doctor Savage's snoring aids and into the next chamber. The Rumbler had stopped moving for the night (moving between chambers while the Rumbler was in motion, particularly considering the flexible joints between the chambers, could be dangerous if there was to be an unexpected turn or drop). The next chamber was a laboratory that had Monk's chemistry equipment and Long Tom's electrical equipment displayed in crates with sides of unbreakable glass. Sitting cross legged in the middle of the chamber, by a small bolted down work table, was T'maru. His eyes were closed when Ann first walked in, but he opened them as she approached, in spite of the fact Ann couldn't hear her own steps.

"Hello, Ann," T'maru said.

"Hello, T'maru," Ann replied. "Were you asleep?"

"Yes, but don't worry," T'maru said. "It will be a simple matter for me to go back to sleep again."

"Could you teach _me_ to sleep like that?" Ann asked.

T'maru chuckled.

"Probably not," he said. "It takes years of training to master the art of sleeping while remaining consciously aware of our surroundings."

Ann nodded. She found it difficult to be amazed any longer at the abilities of T'maru, Doctor Savage, or his team.

"Could we practice with the spears again tomorrow morning?" Ann asked.

"Of course," T'maru said.

Ann thanked him, and by the time she had passed him and moved onto the next chamber, the Wakandan prince's eyes were already closed again.

In the next chamber, Ann found Jack Driscoll and Pat Savage in deep conversation. Ann stood with the door halfway open. This chamber was an observation room, the windows from the outside looked like mirrors, but the observation room was always kept darker than the outside, so on the inside the windows were windows. Jack and Pat were watching a giant beetle of some sort, perhaps as long at eight feet, crawl across the forest floor. The forest was dark, but some of the light from the blue half moon filtered through the canopy, enough so that they could see out.

"I don't know what to do," Pat said. "How can I face him?"

"He kept secrets from you too," Jack said.

"Yeah, but Doc's honest, he just isn't always forthcoming," Pat said. "He was raised that way, but he's also just private by nature. I mean, there really isn't anyone in the world like him except maybe for T'maru and some of the Wakandans, and maybe Dr. Saint John. He wasn't _trying_ to keep anything from me. I know that. He just was waiting for the right moment to tell me what he knew, and he waited too long. He really doesn't have an instinct for these sorts of things. It's the cost he paid for his father making him into a super man.

"But it's _different_ with me," Pat continued. "I've known for more than six years that my mother was his, but I never told him. And I should have. I shouldn't have listened to my father, especially after he was _dead_."

"But you've told him now," Jack said.

"By _accident_," Pat said. "Just by damn _accident_."

Pat started to weep softly. Jack reached over and gave Pat a small half hug. Ann was in no way offended. She knew that he was just providing comfort to someone who was hurting as best he could. It was the same humanistic empathy Ann had first seen when she had read his play, _Isolation. _It was even in his earliest comedy _Ladies and Gentlemen, Dames and Mugs_. Lovesick girls often built up fantasies of men they loved from a distance that the poor fellows could never live up to in real life. However, incredibly, Jack Driscoll was the one man in a thousand whose reality lived up to his lovesick girl's fantasies. His first impulse was always, _always_ to help, even at the cost of his own physical or emotional safety.

She loved him, and he loved her. So far, however, he seemed to have trouble expressing that love unless he was rescuing her. Since Ann had decided to be in the business of rescuing herself, they needed to move on.

Ann cleared her throat.

Jack jumped, his arm pulling suddenly away from Pat's shoulder.

Pat looked up, her expression stricken.

"Hey, sis, take it easy, this isn't what it looks like," Pat said hastily.

Ann laughed softly with a good humor that communicated better than her words that she had seen nothing wrong.

"Actually, I think it's _exactly_ what it looks like, and for your information I approve," Ann said.

"Did you hear…?" Pat said.

This time it was Ann's turn to be apologetic.

"Only the end of it," Ann said. "I didn't _mean_ to eavesdrop, but I didn't want to disturb you either."

Suddenly, there was a loud thump. Ann turned towards the window. The big beetle must have heard them and it was attacking the window with absolutely huge and very lethal looking lateral jaws. Ann heard herself gasp, and saw Jack and Pat both jump back a little.

"Must have heard us," Pat whispered. The beetle tried to force its way in, and making no headway, turned and started to wander away.

"I _hate_ this place!" Jack whispered.

Pat wiped her eyes.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Pat said. "I know you really haven't had any since we were all reunited."

"_Wait,_ Pat," Ann said. "I _know_ what it can be like, having both your parents die when you are still so young."

"At least I _knew_ who my parents were when they died, while Doc…" Pat's voice trailed off.

"There's nothing you can do about that, and it isn't your fault," Ann said. "You and your cou…your _brother_ were both caught in the middle of this, and you _still_ don't know what all happened. But, what you can do is talk to Doc. _Tell_ him about your mother. She was a _good_ mother right?"

"Yeah," Pat said. "And if she had been a mother to Doc, he wouldn't have had the crazy childhood that…"

"_Stop_ it, Pat!" Jack said, raising his voice slightly. This time, when the beetle came back and attacked the glass again, everyone ignored it. "Like Ann said, you don't know what happened to make your parents keep the secrets that they did, and I really doubt Doc cares about that. What he _would_ care about is hearing what his mother was like, and you are the only person in the world who can tell him that now."

The beetle attacked again, this time with sufficient vigor so that although it could not break through the ultra hard glass and steel shell of the Rumbler, it did jostle the craft a bit. Ann heard some yells of protest as Monk, Ham, and Renny all woke up. T'maru came to the door.

"Doc asks that you all stay away from the walls," he whispered. "And for the sake of the first Great Panther, keep your voices _down_, even though I think it is primarily the snoring that is attracting all the arthropod attention."

Ann, Jack, and Pat all nodded.

There was a sudden loud buzz, and a flash of blue light outside, and the beetle was suddenly gone.

"What was _that_?" Jack asked.

"Doc and Long Tom electrified the outside shell of the Rumbler," Pat said. "That drove off the beetle, and the other big creepy crawlies that were skittering around up on top."

She looked at Ann and Jack.

"I'll leave you two alone now," Pat said. "And I'll take your advice. Thank you. _Both_ of you."

After briefly taking Ann's, then Jack's, hands, Pat walked past T'maru towards the front of the Rumbler. T'maru gave Ann and Jack a slight nod before closing the door to the observation cabin. Ann had no doubt that the Wakandan prince had heard every word that was said between Jack, Pat, and herself.

She turned towards Jack. They were alone together at last, but she could barely make him out in the darkness. They were both so forthcoming in giving Pat advice, but she doubted that they would find it as easy to be as forthcoming with each other.

"Jack, we need to…" Ann was going to say "talk", but she was cut off by Jack's passionate kiss.

_This_ was a promising start.

* * *

_As Kong told his story, he noticed that conversation started to die down among the other family groups as they quieted to listen to his story. Kong himself was now being groomed by other adult females, his daughter's mate sisters. His daughter, meanwhile, had joined him in grooming Tumbler. _

_The language of the kong, told in intonation and frequency, reflected the sensory sensitivity that they had simply by having huge eyes, ears, noses, and brains with associated sensory areas. As Kong told the story of his encounter with the little yellow haired hairless crested ape, and of his subsequent capture, kidnapping, escape, recapture, and return, his listeners got word pictures of the sights, sounds, and smells of the gigantic little ape colony that were far beyond the experiences of even lifelong residents of New York. The story Kong was telling was outlandish, and even though he felt no need to exaggerate at all, he knew that he would not be believed, and it didn't matter. It was tradition that when family groups of kong gathered, the silverbacks would tell tall tales concerning what happened to them and their families. Storytelling was an art greatly valued among his people, and Kong was telling a corker. _

_It was also tradition that as a silverback's story got more and more outlandish, other silverbacks would roar good natured taunts about the absurdities of the story. A good story received many taunts. An excellent story received so many taunts that the storyteller had to pause frequently to avoid being drowned out. _

_It took Kong a long time to finish his story. When he at last finished, the sky was dark, and the taunts and heckling were almost deafening. And they didn't stop._

_Not until an authoritative voice rang out._

"_**Silence!"**_

_All taunting stopped. The kong in the trees all looked respectfully at the one who had issued the command. Kong was shocked, because what had just happened was truly unprecedented. The lines of authority in kong families were clear. The silverback ruled, followed by his first mate, then his second mate, and so on down the line of seniority. In gatherings of kong families, when it came to matters of argument and debate, it was the silverbacks who spoke for their families. _

_But the one who had silenced the crowd was no silverback. _

_It was the Wisest of Mothers. It was his __**daughter**__. The deference she was given, even by her own patriarch, was most certainly __**not**__ tradition._

_And she was not finished. _

"_We have been given a gift today. Our leader in war, my __**father**__, has returned just when we need him the most. Our plans have been blessed, and now we can be certain that __**this**__ time, we will win!"_

_Kong stared at his daughter, a feeling of sheer horror rising within him. Win? __**This**__ time? Surely she wasn't suggesting that they should __**repeat**__ his folly, and attack the colony of the little ape invaders again? Better to live quietly far to the north and out of the way._

"_Before the war started, my father was known as Lizard Killer, but he was given a new name when he organized us to go to war. And make no mistake, it is under __**this**__ name that he has returned to us:"_

_She then said the name that roughly translated as "First Among Patriarchs", but for all practical purposes, it was synonymous with the name given to him by a little ape from New York with big dreams. _

"_**King Kong!"**_

_For a moment, there was silence. Then Tumbler roared, followed by another huge silverback. The second silverback went by the name of the Magnificent. _

_And soon, King Kong was again cheered, even more loudly than before. _

_This time, Kong felt no joy at the acclaim, only the dread of regaining something lost, only to lose it again, this time forever. _

* * *

Kaiser Adolph Dietz was about to put another bite of duck bill steak into his mouth when he felt a chill run down from his shoulders, through his spine, and into his gut. He stopped, trying to remember the thought that was the source of his foreboding. He couldn't remember.

But something was wrong. Dietz was sure of it.

Dietz yelled at the nine year old bronze skinned girl standing just behind him.

"Take the steak back and cook me another one, and make certain it's done the way I requested it this time."

So saying, he swept the plate and steak off the table. There really wasn't anything wrong with it, but he had to give some other explanation for why he had stopped eating other than the truth.

He didn't bother to look at the young thrall as she picked up his mess. He was vaguely aware that the bronze girl resembled him, and truly he had had his share of bronze skinned thrall women. They were difficult to tame, but well worth the challenge.

He was vaguely aware that the girl, now scurrying out the door with his broken dishes in hand, was almost certainly his daughter. But the knowledge aroused no emotion within him at all.

* * *

_As the kong all made their nests for the night, Kong helped Tumbler and his family, including his daughter, make theirs. As he did so, Kong noticed a column of ants climbing the tree towards them. Kong gave a short bark of alarm, and the Wisest of Mothers turned and looked at the line of ants approaching them. _

"_It's all right, father," she said. _

_The ants split their column as they approached the nest. Kong watched them suspiciously. Once in awhile, the ants would attack a family group, trying to snatch nursemaids or infant kong as prey. It was not a common occurrence, not nearly as common as being attacked by giant bird lizards (Vastatosaurs), tree hunters (Loboraptors) or even other insects at night that also wished to dine on infant kong or little ape meat, but it was still an alarming sight to see a column of ants approaching them. But clearly, the other kong in his group, including his daughter, were not alarmed at all. And indeed, as he looked around, he saw other columns climbing other trees, and the other kong families also showed no signs of alarm. _

_Then, as he turned back to his daughter, he saw her reaching down to the column and pulling up a tiny object. She held the object out in the palm of her hand and showed it to her father._

"_Your grandson," she said. _

_Kong was stunned into immobility. _

"_How?" he finally asked. _

_To answer the question, the Wisest of Mothers began to tell her own story._

* * *

Hilda MacKenzie stood at the railing of the ship. The half blue moon had risen, leaving a thread of blue light along the still surface of the ocean. One thing about living out on the ocean, away from the shore, was that human beings could stand outside at night and not worry about a giant insect or crab attacking them.

Here and there, there were patches of bioluminescence. One patch rippled and vanished under a wave of grey flesh, probably a feeding whale of some sort. It was too dark to tell what sort of whale it might have been. That, and her vision was too often blurred by tears.

Carl Denham was a lying slaver! It was the _only_ explanation for the outlandish tale he told of kidnapping a kong, and not just any kong. The description matched that of the greatest kong, the _King_ of the kong himself! The idea that a man, even one like Carl Denham, whose self assurance seemed to match that of her father's, could kidnap Kiko's legendary grandfather was just ridiculous, and clearly the claim was meant to…

…well, it really wasn't clear what the purpose of Denham's claim was. But the idea that the King of the kong could be turned into some sort of menagerie beast in the other world, then brought back here unharmed, was pure lunacy. It was insulting to the memory of the legendary kong who gave his life to cover the flight of his people, which in turn meant that it was insulting to her best friend, the _grandson_ of that legendary kong.

It must have been a trap: Raise a false hope that the kong who had nearly destroyed the slavers was still alive. That must have been it. Carl Denham was a spy, an infiltrator. The slavers were now turning their attention to the remaining free peoples of the new world, and she, Hilda, had brought their spy on board like a lovesick child!

"Hilda," a quiet voice said.

Hilda turned to see her father. The huge man loomed over her, concern in his deep brown eyes.

"Mr. Denham be very concerned about the effect of his story on you, as be I," Captain John MacKenzie said.

"Mr. Denham?" Hilda said. "_That_ liar? Why should I care about his concern, when I be sure that his 'concern' be a lie as well."

Captain MacKenzie put his large hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I disagree," Captain MacKenzie said. "I believe Mr. Denham."

Hilda gaped at her father in complete disbelief.

"Father," Hilda gasped. "Mr. Denham be an agent of the slavers. He told a story that makes the King of the kong look the fool, and yet gives us false hope that he be alive."

"To do that, he could have told a more believable story than that," Captain MacKenzie said. "His story was too crazy to be a lie. I believe him, Hilda."

"How?" Hilda asked. "_How_ can you believe him?"

"Because when I told Mr. Denham about the kong he been describing, he looked sick to his stomach," Captain MacKenzie said. "He really had no idea who he been talking about. I have watched men for many years, Hilda. I can tell when a man be lying to me."

"What did he do?" Hilda asked as she wondered at the feeling of hope blossoming inside her. Her father, who was far more suspicious by nature than she was, believed Carl Denham where she had not. Was it possible that he _could_ have been telling the truth?

"When I told Mr. Denham about the scarred old kong who led the attack against the slavers, who you will recall Mr. Denham says sank his own ship, he got this sick look on his face. He ran out the door and found the nearest drain hole in the deck. Then he vomited. I watched him, without saying a word. He was whispering over and over to himself 'What have I done?'"

"Where be Mr. Denham now?" Hilda asked.

"He be in our cabin," Captain MacKenzie said. "He be wanting to tell the story to Kiko, especially since he now knows that Kiko be the King of the kong's grandson. He wants to 'offer his apologies', and also offer himself up to 'any justice that Kiko might want to take.'"

"_Kiko_ won't hurt him," Hilda said. "He be gentle as a lamb, except with land crocodiles and bird lizards. But if Mr. Denham be lying, Mr. Denham's story will hurt _him_ most of all. The rest of Kiko's family be dead. He thinks he be alone, except for us. And nothing be worse than hope given, then stolen away."

"Aye," Captain MacKenzie. "That's why I told Mr. Denham he be not to say anything to Kiko or anyone else about his story until I can confirm it. Tomorrow, I will send Alex out to search for the Eye in the Sky, and he will see if he can find proof that the King of the kong yet lives."

Hilda looked up at the sleeping carnivorous parrot roosting on the central mast, and quietly began to pray that he could find the Eye, and that the Eye would once again confirm a story from Carl Denham.

* * *

"_When we ran from the battle, some of the aircraft got through," the Wisest of Mothers said. "Fortunately, you were not the only one of us who could knock their aircraft out of the sky with a slingshot."_

_Kong looked at his daughter. Did his daughter inherit his skill?_

"_No, it was not me, it was Tumbler," the Wisest of Mothers said. "But we knew there would be others, so as we survivors fled, we stopped only to pick up our families. With my patriarch, Broken Brow, gone, I had no family except for my mate sisters and my then youngest daughter, who was preparing to join another family. I was unable to convince the most senior of my mate sisters to travel with us, and the other mate sisters chose to stay with her. I am certain none of them survived the fires that came later."_

_The Wisest of Mothers looked sadly at her father. _

"_Fortunately, most of the other families were not so obstinate," she continued. "We all traveled north, taking our little ape wet nurses with us. We traveled north, farther than any kong family or little crested ape colony had been before. We continued north until we saw no aircraft, and heard no explosions. Only then did we stop. Only then did we find forests to settle in."_

"_But the ants…" Kong said. "How?"_

"_We didn't have enough wet nurses to serve even the surviving families," the Wisest of Mothers said. "Children were born with no wet nurses to raise them for those first few critical months, and our children were of course born too small for us to feed or care for ourselves. Those children were lost. To save future newborns, we had to find an alternative to little ape wet nurses. I no longer had a patriarch, so I volunteered to find another way."_

"_And you found the ants," Kong said. He found himself in awe of his daughter. _

"_Yes," she said. "I watched the ants as they cooperated with one another, and protected one another. I watched how they cooperated and showed intelligence in solving problems. And I watched as they were attacked by other ant colonies, and how the great bird lizards and another, even bigger long tongued bird lizard of a sort we had never seen down south, would prey on them. I started to assist the local ants in fighting off the bird lizards and other predators. I asked some of our silverbacks to do the same. At first, they thought I was mad, but when I explained what I was trying to do, they were just desperate enough to go along with it. _

"_And it worked, the ants noticed our assistance. We were able to place our wet nurses and infants right in front of their columns and they would leave them alone."_

_Kong was amazed. _

"_I didn't know the bugs were intelligent enough to notice things like that." he said._

"_They were," the Wisest of Mothers said. "But we needed more from them than just their leaving us alone. I tried to communicate with them, but it didn't seem that they could understand. And other things came and took our remaining wet nurses, until we only had two left between eleven families. It seemed as if we were doomed to be the last generation of our kind._

"_Then, the ants started to imitate our vocalizations. They didn't seem to understand them, but they imitated, and eventually, there were ants that began to understand our speech. The ants, it turned out, watched us as I watched them. And while an individual ant could not understand what we were doing, it could still report it to other ants. And other ants would report other things. And the reports all would come back to the colony, and in the colony there was an ant that could put all those observations together."_

"_The queen," Kong said. Down south, kong supplemented their fruit and plant diets by occasionally feeding on insects, including the ants. Some kong, including himself, broke open the tall stone colonies to eat the ants and white worms inside. Occasionally, a very large ant, almost half the size of an adult kong female, would be found. A fierce creature that was too big and too dangerous to eat, even as she laid eggs out of which hatched miniature versions of the white worms. These ants were called queens by the kong._

"_Yes, the queen," his daughter said. "Eventually, the queen was able to learn enough of our language to relay a message summoning us to her colony. She immediately understood that we were trying to form an alliance with them, and she was patient enough to take the time to learn what we wanted. We were able to reach a settlement. We would help to protect the ant colonies against predators and competing ant colonies, while the ants themselves would take the place of our little ape wet nurses. It was a task training the ants how to take milk from our breasts and feed it to our infants, but it worked. Our excess milk had the additional benefit of being highly prized food for the queen's infants."_

"_The white worms?" Kong asked. _

"_Yes," the Wisest of Mothers said. "The ants are not as nurturing as the little ape wet nurses, but they are very protective, and allow us to take the infants back so that we can nurture them. The arrangement between us and the ant colonies has allowed us both to not only survive, but thrive."_

"_No wonder they call you the Wisest of Mothers!" Kong exclaimed. _

_Now it was clear why even the silverbacks deferred to his daughter, changing her name from Little Flower to the Wisest of Mothers! She had literally saved the next generation with her intelligence and wisdom. By what other name could she be called?_

_But there was still something that didn't make sense. _

"_You have saved us, ensured the survival of our people for another generation," Kong said. "Why would you risk all that by going back to the invading little ape colony that nearly destroyed us before? You don't have nearly the numbers that we had the last time, and I am sure that the invaders have added to their numbers and increased their fortifications."_

"_You are right about that, father, but that is __**why**__ we have to try to destroy the colony again," the Wisest of Mothers replied. "The territory that I lived in with my first patriarch has been burned out. The little apes have built more aircraft, more water skimming craft, and they are working on another craft that seems to be able to travel through the water."_

"_They have a craft that can travel through the water?" Kong echoed. "You mean, it can travel under the __**surface**__?"_

"_Yes," the Wisest of Mothers replied. "And they are traveling father and farther, destroying and enslaving more little ape colonies. One of their aircraft even tried to attack a roc."_

_Kong allowed himself a brief and fierce grin. He could imagine how well __**that**__ went for the little ape piloting the craft! _

_The Wisest of Mothers continued:_

"_They will eventually come here, and then they will travel further to the north. They have already destroyed an ant colony immediately to the south of us, forcing the family who cooperated with that colony to flee to the north. Eventually, if we do nothing, we will be driven north to the edge of the Great Volcano Line, and we will die with our backs literally to a wall."_

"_But the problem still remains," Kong said. "You have less than __**half**__ the silverbacks I had when I tried to destroy the colony."_

"_This time, it is not just us," the Wisest of Mothers said. _

"_The ants will not be enough," Kong replied. _

"_I was not just talking about the ants," the Wisest of Mothers said. She turned. Illuminated by the light of the blue half moon, Kong saw that Tumbler and his other mates had built a nest for the night. _

"_Tumbler," the Wisest of Mothers said. _

_Tumbler stuck his enormous head out of the nest. _

"_I want to take father to meet our allies," she said. _

_Tumbler looked out at the forest and the huge vines that connected the trees. _

"_Be very careful, both of you," he said. "It's dark."_

_It was the proper thing for a patriarch to say, both to his mate and his mate uncle, and it was the first time he had seen evidence of a more traditional relationship between his daughter and her patriarch. He felt a mild sense of relief to see that his world and his people had not changed completely. _

_The Wisest of Mothers reached for a vine and started to brachiate across it. Kong followed carefully. They went from tree to tree, until they came to one of the largest trees Kong had ever seen, one that incredibly seemed to be almost as tall as the dwelling he had climbed in the huge little ape colony (i.e., the Empire State Building in New York City). Once they reached this tree, the Wisest of Mothers began to carefully climb it. So heavy was the foliage from the giant tree, and the symbiotic and parasitic trees that grew from its branches, that the moonlight only sparsely penetrated the canopy, making it slow going as the Wisest of Mothers and Kong had to search for each handhold. Eventually, they reached almost the top of the tree, and Kong was startled to see three large white forms sitting on the branches._

_Rocs!_

_The largest of the birds stirred, and spoke to them in the language of the kong. _

"_So," it said (Kong could not tell if it was a male or a female). "__**This **__is the legendary King of the kong."_

_When Kong was just a boy, his mountain dwelling uncle had taken him to see a roc roosting site, but only from a distance. There were huge nests, built mostly from large pieces of driftwood, lining an entire mountainside. When Kong asked his uncle why they didn't approach closer, his uncle had said: "We leave them alone, and they leave us alone."_

_Obviously, things had changed. _

"_These are our allies in the upcoming war," the Wisest of Mothers said. "These are our __**Eyes in the Sky**__." _

_And the "greatest military mind" Kaiser Dietz had met "other than himself" immediately understood the tactical advantages that arose from having the rocs as allies. Kong's mind began buzzing with plans. _

_His daughter was right. They had a chance to win. _

Next

Chapter 24

Reunions Part 1

**Real life calls again on many fronts (usually, I should not even **_**thinking**_** about writing fan fiction this time of the school year). But, my home life, my work, and my "real writing" all call again, so it's back to hiatus for Kong and company. Once again, I thank Rebecca Ann for the insights into Ann's character that both her short story, "A Reason for Distance" and her longer fic "The Writer and the Actress" provided (I used them to provide insight into how she saw both Jack and the advice she gave to Pat). **

**The name of Alex, given to Captain John MacKenzie's carnivorous parrot, is of course a tribute to the late Alex the African Grey Parrot, who helped to teach the world that minds are not just limited to human beings. **

**Till next time. **


	24. Chapter 24 Reunions, Part 1

**Well, I am back, stealing a few moments during the holidays, to update this story. I have made some updates to some chapters, especially Chapter 20, because my original ideas about interaction between Kiko and Hilda and King Kong really didn't work out logically, which means I had to undo the groundwork I was laying out for my original idea. **

**I have to say I am glad to be getting away from Captain MacKenzie and his crew. Their speech patterns were giving me a headache. **

Chapter 24

Reunions, Part 1

In the middle of the night, Carl Denham was roughly hauled out of his bunk by two burly men. For the briefest of moments, Denham resisted, shucking one of the men off of him and onto the floor. But then he remembered where he was and he raised his arms up in surrender.

"Sorry, fellas," he said. The man Denham had knocked down shrugged and grabbed Denham's arm. He didn't seem to be angry, just impressed.

Denham was half dragged, half walked out of the crew quarters in the center section of the huge ship, up the steps, and onto the huge deck. It was night, and the moon was now just a thin blue and white crescent in the sky. Waiting grim faced in the dim moonlight were the MacKenzies; Captain John, Delores, and Hilda. For some reason, Denham's heart skipped a beat when he saw the beautiful Hilda MacKenzie. She wouldn't meet his eyes. Hilda had avoided him like he was infected with jumping worms, and he couldn't blame her. He was sure in telling his story about the capture (no, kidnapping) of the actual King of the Kong, he had sounded a lot like his old blowhard self.

"Mr. Denham," Captain MacKenzie said. "Look up."

Denham looked up at the night sky. Something huge and pale flew across the face of the Milky Way, and he heard the rustle of immense wings. Denham looked back at Captain MacKenzie, and sure enough, the big carnivorous parrot Alex was back and sitting on his shoulder. The parrot had obviously found the Eye in the Sky, and the huge white raven was returning with news about King Kong: News that might well result in Denham being chucked overboard.

Just then, there was a vibration under the deck as the perch for the Eye was pushed out from under the deck, no doubt by Kiko, the grandson of Kong. One final sliding rumble and the perch was pushed into place. The next moment, the white haired young kong came up from under the ship and took his place next to the MacKenzies. Denham felt the accusing weight of the young kong's gaze. Had Hilda or one of the other people on this ship told Kiko what he, Carl, had done to his grandfather?

So distracted by Kiko was Carl that he jumped when, with a rustle of immense wings, the huge roc landed on its perch.

"_Greetings, great Eye in the Sky_!" Captain MacKenzie bellowed to the huge bird.

"**And I bid greetings and glad tidings, Captain MacKenzie**," the Eye in the Sky both screeched and boomed.

"And what 'glad tidings' be these?" MacKenzie asked.

"**The King of the Kong not only lives, he has rejoined the remnants of his people who live in the shadow of the Great Northern Mountains.**"

Kiko started to grunt excitedly and make hand gestures towards Hilda MacKenzie. Hilda, smiling, responded with enthusiastic hand gestures of her own.

"_Wait,_ Kiko, _wait,_ Hilda," Captain MacKenzie said as he turned his steely eyed gaze towards Denham. "Great Eye, did you speak with the King about Mr. Denham?"

"**Aye,**" the Eye in the Sky replied.

As they waited on the great bird to elaborate on its answer, the resulting silence, with the exception of the ocean lapping against the multiple hulls of the ship, was complete. Denham held his breath. He thought he may have seen Hilda sneak a look at him out of the corner of her eye.

"**The King of the Kong confirms every detail of Mr. Denham's story, as told to me by your parrot Alex,**" the Eye in the Sky said. "**The King of the Kong was indeed taken to what you call the 'old world'. He escaped, was recaptured, and returned. He well remembers the one who threw the sleeping potion into his face, only to clean up after him later. He extends to Mr. Denham his greetings and his condolences on the loss of his shipmates.**"

Denham stood in absolute shock. _King Kong_ had given_ him_ a message, relayed by a _giant talking bird_! It was the most surreal moment of his life.

Until, that is, the very next moment, when Hilda MacKenzie ran up and blindsided him with a tight hug and a wet kiss on his lips! Before he knew it, his own arms went around her shoulders and he returned the kiss.

"_**Wait,**_** there be more,**" the Eye in the Sky said. "**The King of the Kong wishes to meet with Mr. Denham at the Great Black Cliff, when the tide be at its lowest." **

Carl Denham blushed and nodded as he gently pushed Hilda MacKenzie away.

"With Captain MacKenzie's permission, I will be there," Denham said. He didn't know what Kong wanted him for. Perhaps Doc Savage and the others who were marooned on shore would still be with the giant gorilla. Or perhaps Kong just wanted revenge. Either way, Denham knew that getting to shore would get him that much closer to his erstwhile shipmates.

"But first," Denham continued as he turned to look at Kiko. "It's time I told my story to Kiko, don't you think?"

"Aye," Hilda said. "It be time."

Kiko was making rapid fire hand gestures at Hilda.

"Aye, Kiko," Hilda said with a laugh. "It be true! Your grandfather be _alive_, and we have Carl Denham to thank for this news!"

Kiko started to run back and forth along the deck with a stiff legged and armed gait, making grunts of joy. As for Carl Denham, he felt two things he had not really felt in a long time.

He felt hope, and he felt loved.

* * *

The Rumbler was having mechanical problems. Halfway up a steep slope, Doc Savage stopped the Rumbler so that he, T'maru, Renny, Long Tom, and Monk could work on it. Ham and Johnny joined Jack Driscoll, Pat Savage, and pretty Ann Darrow on guard duty.

To the east, there was ocean and from the ocean there was a cool and refreshing breeze. To the west, there was the slope that was getting progressively steeper. To the south, at the bottom of the slope, there were huge long necked saurapods and not as huge but still big spiked horned dinosaurs grazing in a great meadow. Hopping between them like huge jackrabbits, there were green, feathered duck billed dinosaurs.

But as amazing as that scene was, it was the north that captivated Ham's attention. To the north and northwest, on top of the slope, there was a forest. Even from the distance of two or three miles, Ham could tell that the forest was composed of the biggest trees he had ever seen. Beyond the trees, there was a mountain. The mountain was a volcano (Ham hoped it was an _extinct_ volcano). The volcano was covered with snow except at the very top. Ham had wondered aloud if the volcano was still active, and was too warm for snow. Doc, however, had a different theory.

Doc suspected that the mountain was so tall that the top extended above the atmosphere where snow could fall!

Even more than the dinosaurs, the mountain told Ham that they weren't on Earth anymore. At least, not _their_ Earth!

Suddenly, to the south, Ham heard bellows of alarm from the herbivorous dinosaurs. He heard Ann Darrow's exclamation of horror.

"That's them!" she cried. "_These_ are the big dinosaurs that Kong rescued me from!"

The dinosaurs Ann referred to looked like the Tyrannosaurus in the Museum of Natural History, except that they were bigger, alive, and covered in flesh and muscle. Their heads were horizontal to the ground, and their tails extended out behind them. They traveled together like a pack of wolves. There were seven of them.

"Remarkable!" Johnny said. "Notice how they are balanced between their cephalic and caudal extremities."

"Speak English, beanpole," Pat said.

"They balance on their hips between their heads and their tails," Jack Driscoll translated before the archeologist/paleontologist could reply. "Not like the Tyrannosaurus at the museum."

The saurapods didn't seem to be too alarmed at the huge therapods walking in their midst. The duckbilled dinosaurs, however, scattered and bellowed. The horned dinosaurs also scattered, but at a more leisurely pace.

"Huh," Driscoll said. "That's weird. The long necked ones panicked and stampeded in response to a lot smaller carnivores than these guys."

"Ah," Johnny said, clearly excited to watch the ecological interactions of live dinosaurs. "But you see, the saurapods _are_ responding. The smaller ones are moving closer to the larger ones."

"But why _aren't_ they panicking like the others?" Ham asked. But even as he asked the question, the astute lawyer observed part of his answer. The huge therapods ignored the big long necked saurapods in favor of the panicking duckbills. One of the huge therapods would chase a duckbill into the waiting jaws of another therapod.

"Just as I suspected from the scars on Kong's body," Johnny said. "These dinosaurs hunt prey substantially smaller than themselves. The carnivorous dinosaurs you saw, Mr. Driscoll, probably specialize in prey larger than themselves."

"Uh oh," Pat said. "We've been spotted."

Sure enough, one of the huge therapods was looking right at them. The dinosaurs were not too close, about a quarter of a mile away, but it was still very disconcerting. Ham wasn't sure that their machine pistols would be enough to stop these behemoths. He saw Ann move her sonic spear into a ready position. That was the weapon that would be most likely to work.

But then, something odd happened. The therapod turned and went after another duck billed dinosaur. Soon, it had chased one of the (relatively speaking anyway) small animals into the waiting jaws of a pack mate.

"They're ignoring us," Ann said. "That's weird. Three of them were determined to get me, even with Kong fighting them."

Suddenly, T'maru dropped from the top of the rumbler next to Ham, making the attorney jump.

"That_ is_ interesting, Ann," T'maru said. "It's almost as if these dinosaurs know that it is best to avoid armed humans."

"So," Ham said. "Does that mean you think we are getting close to New Prussia?"

"It seems like a likely hypothesis," T'maru said. "But just in case, maybe you all ought to return to the inside of the Rumbler. We have finished our repairs."

No one argued with the Black Panther's suggestion.

* * *

Captain MacKenzie watched as the ship approached the black cliff. The black cliff was high and sheer and the color of polished ebony. It was said that not even a kong or tree lizard could climb it. And yet, as the ship approached the black cliff, on the sandy beach underneath it (a beach that was only revealed at the lowest tide), there stood two huge kong silverbacks. Behind him, MacKenzie heard Kiko grunting in excitement.

MacKenzie was worried. Kiko was like a son to him. He had felt honored when the young silverback and his single mate had selected Delores to raise their first child, a white haired kong. So honored were they that MacKenzie had planned to give up his position as First Mate to the _Harvester_, the ship he now captained. But then the slavers had come, and changed all of their plans. The MacKenzies had returned to the open seas that had birthed them, and taken their adopted kong son with them. Kiko's father and mother had used their slings to cover their escape. The Eye in the Sky later told them that their sacrifice had been final. The young kong had grown to become a beloved member of the crew.

Kiko, quite naturally, wanted to go to shore with Denham. He had not seen another kong since he was a tiny infant. The kong he was seeing pacing the shore were the first kong Kiko had seen in his living memory.

Worse, Helen wanted to go to shore with her adopted brother. Not to mention, she wanted to go to shore with Carl Denham as well. She had clearly fallen in love with Denham, and given what he knew about the man (which wasn't much) MacKenzie found himself approving of her choice. Denham was a strong man who, in his short time among them, had developed into an able crewman who never balked at any task.

The kong had developed their own sign language, which they had taught to their human nursemaids. Delores knew it, MacKenzie knew it, Hilda knew it, Kiko knew it, and he suspected that the King of the Kong knew it. The sign language was known only to the kong and their trusted nursemaids (and through them, some of the nursemaids' families). Delores would go to shore with Denham, and translate so that the King of the Kong could speak to his former captor.

He had spoken with Denham, after the Eye in the Sky had confirmed his story. Denham wanted to rescue his crewmates from the slavers. It was a fool's errand. To be captured by the slavers was to be lost. Period. But Denham would hear nothing of it. He said that they had left some very capable men marooned on shore, and that they were capable of almost anything.

"_And how will you be finding them, Mr. Denham?"_ MacKenzie had asked him.

"_I don't know,_" Denham had answered truthfully. "_But I know I won't find them on this ship._"

Denham and MacKenzie had agreed on one thing, however. Neither wanted Hilda to risk herself on Denham's doomed rescue mission.

* * *

Denham watched as two huge kong prowled back and forth along the black sand beach underneath the striking black obsidian cliff. As the lifeboat, a sailboat the size of a small yaht, approached the shore (incredibly with Kiko at the tiller), Denham recognized the scarred body and face of King Kong. Incredibly, he was the smaller of the two silverbacks. The larger silverback was comparatively unmarked, and looked much younger. Indeed, Denham actually found himself mentally using the word "handsome" to describe the younger kong. At the same time, Kong stared at the little kong, his grandson, steering the lifeboat towards them. Standing by Denham's side were Helen and Delores MacKenzie. Hilda had ignored the entreaties of both Denham and her father. And when Delores, incredibly, took _Helen's_ side in the dispute, Denham and Captain MacKenzie found themselves overruled.

Later, Denham had asked Captain MacKenzie why he hadn't simply told his wife and daughter that he was the captain, and what he said goes. MacKenzie had replied that while he was the captain of his ship, he and his wife were equals in their marriage. And Hilda, as an adult herself, had her own standing in her family. Hilda's choice to stay or go was more of a family matter than a crew matter.

Hilda had been popular with some of her male crewmates, but none of them had passed her muster, or for that matter the muster of her parents. For reasons Denham himself did not fully understand, _he_ had won the approval of both Hilda and her parents when other men had not. And indeed, _he_ was falling for her like a ton of bricks.

But now, he was going to meet with King Kong, the huge gorilla he had wronged. If Kong still held a grudge, he and Hilda really didn't have much of a future.

* * *

_Kong and Tumbler watched as the little water skimming craft reached the shore. Kong recognized the crazy little ape who had captured him, then on the return trip put himself at Kong's mercy. Part of Kong wanted to know why the crazy little ape had done that. According to the roc who had relayed the crazy little ape's tale, the little male felt guilty about what he had done to Kong. To Kong, that scarcely mattered. If the crazy little ape had not captured him and taken him to the huge little ape colony where the air was unbreathable and everything was heavy, then he would have never met the little bronze ape, and if he had not met the little bronze ape, his daughter would have never found out that he was still alive. The crazy little ape felt bad about the things he had done, but Kong had no time for the little ape's guilt. He was ready to move on. And he was more worried about other things._

_When Kong had heard that the other little apes, the ones who had killed his family and almost destroyed his people, had sunk the craft that he had ridden, all he could think of were his friends, the little apes who had accompanied him back to the walled colony, who had stood by his side to battle the aircraft. Had __**they**__ gone down with the water skimming craft? _

_If they had, Kong had more deaths to avenge. _

_But if they had not, Kong potentially had some key allies in the upcoming war. _

_These were Kong's thought as he watched the small water skimming craft separate from the giant water skimming craft. _

_But now, Kong watched in disbelief as a young white haired child of his people steered the small water skimming craft that was bringing the crazy little ape to shore. _

"_There is something you do not see every day," Tumbler, his new patriarch and son-in-law, said. _

"_Indeed," Kong replied. _

* * *

When he wasn't maintaining or repairing the Rumbler, Long Tom Roberts spent most of his awake time listening to radio chatter. The New Prussians used a long broken German submarine code, and had never gotten around to voice transmission. Of course, here on what Driscoll called "Planet Terror", there were no concerns about enemies listening in on their radio traffic.

Until now, that is.

Long Tom had already learned quite a lot about the New Prussians and their world. Planet Terror was encircled with a northern continent that seemed to cover approximately two thirds of the northern hemisphere. The land they were on was a peninsula that extended approximately 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) southwards from that continent. Approximately two thirds up the peninsula there was a range of huge mountains, including the absolutely gigantic volcano they could see to the north that formed an effective geographic barrier between the southern and the northern peninsula. The New Prussians had built ships and at least two other submarines to explore the eastern and western coastlines of the peninsula, and they were continuing eastward along the shore of the great northern continent.

It did not take long for Long Tom and the others to realize that the primary goal of the New Prussian's exploration was to find new human settlements to enslave.

And according to the chatter he was listening in on, one of the New Prussian submarines had found a settlement on the coastline 1,420 kilometers (822 miles) east of the peninsula. The conversation went like this:

Submarine: _We have found a new settlement. The people live in tree houses with ladders between the platforms. They are difficult to see from the shore._

New Prussia (Dietz himself?): _How many times have you been by this shore?_

Submarine: _Six times before we spotted activity in the trees. _

New Prussia: _Do you see any signs of a dock? _

Submarine: _No, but there is a long shoreline that can accommodate the tides. _

New Prussia: _Excellent. Stay out of sight and wait._

Since then, the submarine crew gave regular reports every four hours to the home base in New Prussia. When Long Tom reported this conversation to Doc, the bronze giant immediately had a theory.

"They are waiting for something," Doc said.

"What do you think they are waiting for, Doc?" Long Tom asked.

"Unless I miss my guess, they are waiting for a ship," Doc said. "I doubt that the New Prussians are the first people to sail the oceans here. If I had found human settlements along the coastline in a world as dangerous as this one, I would suspect the same thing that Dietz probably suspects."

"Oceanic trade?" Long Tom suggested.

"Exactly," Doc said. "A sea faring people that the New Prussians have not yet enslaved. From what little I learned from the unfortunate Lieutenant Vogt, the self proclaimed Kaiser Dietz is very sensitive to _any_ possible challenge to his ability to maintain and extend his rule."

"But if the New Prussians haven't encountered this sea faring people yet…" Long Tom said.

"…then these others must have an advantage over the New Prussians," Doc finished. "Something that allows them to avoid the New Prussian ships. It may be very helpful for us to find these people and discover just what their advantage is."

* * *

Kiko steered the ship in perfectly. Carl Denham, exotically beautiful Hilda MacKenzie, and several other crewmen leaped off the ship and helped to guide it to shore.

"We don't have long," Delores MacKenzie said. "The tide will soon be coming back in, and this shore will be gone."

Denham nodded. Kiko jumped off the ship with a considerable splash and walked ashore. The two silverbacks stared at the (comparatively) little white kong. Then Kong snorted and Denham felt a vibration through the very black sands he was standing on.

Delores MacKenzie started to make the same sort of hand gestures that Denham had seen Kiko and Hilda using. The two silverbacks looked at one another. Then, slowly and awkwardly, Kong began to make gestures back.

* * *

_It was not easy to make the gestures. Kong had not used those gestures himself in over 180 years, when he had visited his uncle on the side of a snowy mountain. These gestures were primarily used between northern kong families and their little crested ape nursemaids, with whom they had a more intricate relationship than existed between the kong and the degenerate little apes to the south. The little apes that had provided nursemaids to his family had been too fearful to learn the gestural language of their forefathers. The last time Kong had seen others those gestures, he had been gathering an army to launch the disastrous attack on the invading little ape colony. _

_And now, mere days after discovering that he was not the last of his kind, he was about to try again. _

_Kong wanted to ask about the white haired boy who had accompanied the crazy little ape, but first things came first. _

* * *

_Kiko was bitterly disappointed. The two silverbacks, the first of his kind that he ever remembered seeing, seemed to be more interested in Carl Denham than they were in him. He knew that the scarred one was his grandfather, according to Denham's description. _

_When they'd first hit shore, the two silverbacks did rumble at him with the sort of rich, harmonic sounds that Kiko had only heard from whales. There was a familiarity to the sounds, but he did not understand their meaning. And once it was apparent that he did not understand the sounds, the two silverbacks seemed to lose interest in him. _

_The gestures of the King of the Kong were awkward, and barely understandable. He was asking about humans, and especially seemed to be interested in one with yellow hair. Delores translated as best she could. _

"_He be asking about a woman with yellow hair," Delores said. _

"_Ann," Denham said. "Ann Darrow. Tell him that Ann and the others did not make it back to the ship before the slavers sunk it."_

_Delores used gestures to relay Denham's words to his grandfather and his younger companion. She had to repeat the message several times. Finally, however, his grandfather seemed to understand. The old silverback gestured again, this time asking about a bronze skinned man (like the ones who lived on the east side of the peninsula?), a larger dark haired but pale skinned man, and a man with skin like Delores' and Hilda's, but darker._

"_Doc, Renny, and T'maru," Denham said. "Tell Kong that they didn't get back to the ship either. In fact, Doc's whole crew was left onshore, and they are probably OK."_

_Once Delores got this message through, Kiko's grandfather grunted excitedly. The two silverbacks conversed in rich harmonic tones that, Kiko knew from experience, the humans could not hear. Kiko could not translate, but he could tell Delores and Hilda that they were talking to each other, and that they were excited, and he did. _

_Kong turned to Delores again, and this time the message in his awkward gestures was clear the first time. _

"_Ask him if he knows where they are," Kong said. _

"_He wants to know where they are," Delores said. _

"_I don't know," Denham said. "Last I knew, we left them at the city of the dead, but knowing Doc, I doubt they stayed there."_

_When Denham's statement was relayed to Kong, the old silverback's reply was clear._

"_Do you know where they went?"_

_Denham appeared to think Kong's question over. _

"_The only way to get back to the other world, the one where we came from, would be to find another ship and look for mists," Denham said. "And as far as Doc knows, the only ships that can do that are likely to belong to the slavers. My guess is that he is looking for the slavers, at the very least to get a ship so that he can take Ann, Pat, and Jack home."_

_When Delores relayed the message to Kong, Kiko's grandfather became alarmed. He and the younger silverback talked intensely to one another their harmonic tones. _

_Finally, Kong turned to Delores and gestured emphatically. She couldn't read the gestures and neither could Kiko. Kiko had had enough. He gestured to his grandfather. _

"_Slow down," Kiko gestured. "Try again."_

_Kong looked at Kiko as if he was an upstart bug. _

"_Who you, boy?" Kong gestured. _

_Kiko hesitated. Then very slowly he gestured:_

"_I be your son's…son."_

_Kiko had to repeat it twice. Then, it was clear that his grandfather understood. _

* * *

"What's going on?" asked Denham. Kiko and Kong were gesturing to one another.

"Kiko be telling him who he be," Hilda said.

Denham watched Kong's face. Incredibly, Kong did not seem to be angry at Denham at all. But he was clearly very interested in Ann, Doc, and the others. Denham wondered what Ann, Doc, T'maru, and Renny had experienced with Kong. All he knew was that the big ape had brought them all back to the city of the dead safely.

As Denham watched, he saw Kong and the other silverback stare intently into Kiko's face. Then Kong started to gesture rapidly to Kiko. The news that he had a grandson who sailed the…however many seas this planet had…was clearly as startling to Kong as it had been to Denham.

* * *

_The news was beyond belief. _

_His grandson! Here? _

_Kong had only one son who had lived to grow to adulthood. He was named Batsnatcher because he was so quick that he could snatch bats and birds out of the very air. And as Kong looked into the white kong's dark face, he could see his son's face looking back at him. _

_A kong, his grandson, raised on the open sea by little crested apes?_

_It was apparent that his grandson could not speak in the language of his people. Only the ancient and awkward gestural language would work between them. But Kong had so many questions, and his hands seemed to fall over themselves in his haste to ask them. _

"_Mate uncle," Tumbler said, addressing him by the title that dominant silverbacks used to address an aged father of one of their mates. _

"_**Mate uncle**__!" Tumbler said again. "Slow __**down**__. The boy can not understand you."_

_Kong stopped. He took a deep breath. The mate of his daughter and his new patriarch was correct. _

_Kong started again, slowly. He wanted to learn all that he could from his newly discovered grandson, but he also had much to tell him and his little ape companions. In his agile mind, Kong saw all sorts of possibilities. He was going to go to war again, but this time, he had new advantages, and he intended to exploit them. _

* * *

As the sun started to set, and the tide started to rise in earnest, the lifeboat had returned with its crew. However, as Captain MacKenzie suspected (or rather dreaded), neither Hilda nor Kiko had accompanied his wife back to the ship.

Captain MacKenzie waited impatiently as his wife climbed the rope ladder to the deck where he stood.

"What happened?" MacKenzie asked Delores.

"The King of the Kong be taking Kiko to meet his people, including his aunt," Delores said. "Carl Denham be going with them, and Hilda be going with them both."

"Damn it!" MacKenzie exclaimed.

"There be more," Delores said. "The kong have made an alliance with the rocs. The kong intend to attack the slavers again, this time with support from the rocs and, it seems, something else, I couldn't figure out what."

"And Hilda be going to be _in the __**middle**__ of that_?" MacKenzie asked, his voice rising in indignation.

"Aye," Delores replied. "Mr. Denham plans to help the kong in their war any way he can."

"Enough!" Captain MacKenzie exclaimed. 'Get me Mr. Wallace!"

Mr. Wallace was the First Mate of the Harvester. Captain MacKenzie intended to give up his captainship and go to shore to be with his daughter and adopted kong son.

"It be too late, husband," Delores said sadly. "They have already left, and the tide be coming in. There be no beach."

"How did they get down there?" MacKenzie asked. "Surely not even kong can climb the black cliff!"

"There be a tunnel in the cliff," Delores said. "I don't know where it goes, but it be too late to follow them now. The entrance to the tunnel be under water."

Captain MacKenzie howled and punched the railing, breaking off wood splinters. Tears stung his eyes.

"You take good care of my girl and my boy, Mr. Denham and Mr. King of the Kong," Captain MacKenzie muttered. "You take good care of them or you will be dealing with me! So swears John MacKenzie!"

Captain MacKenzie then shook his head angrily. They had spent too much time close to the peninsula, and he was responsible for an entire shipload of people, a floating village in fact. The longer he stayed close to the peninsula, the more likely it was that the slavers would catch them. And the Admiral would want to know about the return of the King of the Kong, and the alliance between the rocs and the kong.

"Pull up the anchor, lads!" MacKenzie bellowed. "It be time for us to go!"

* * *

Both Carl Denham and Hilda MacKenzie were clinging to Kiko's back as the young kong followed the two silverbacks through the high forest canopy. Kiko swung from one huge vine to another as if he had been born to it. And really, Hilda throught, it probably wasn't all that different from swinging from mast to mast on the Harvester.

Helen wondered if she had lost her mind. She really didn't know much about Denham, except that he was a strong man of honor. She wouldn't have wanted to leave her adopted brother alone anyway, but for some reason she found the idea of never seeing Carl Denham again even harder to swallow.

It was so unlike her to be such a silly, love struck girl.

As if to echo her thoughts, Carl Denham asked:

"Are you _sure_ about this, Hilda?"

"It be too late to change my mind _now_, Mr. Denham," Hilda replied tartly.

But silently, she said a prayer that she would, some day, see her father and mother again.

Next

Chapter 25

Riders in the Sky


	25. Chapter 25 Riders in the Sky

Chapter 25

Riders in the Sky

Adolf Dietz, the self proclaimed Kaiser of New Prussia, stood in the wireless room. It had been a bad two weeks. There had been no contact from Ernst Hoffman, and Dietz had been forced to conclude that his friend was dead, probably killed by the hand of General Scar. With no word from Hoffman, there had been no word about General Scar, which meant that the deadliest kong of all was still at large.

And this time, he had human allies.

His interviews with Englehorn's crewmen (particularly the one who was little more than a boy, Jimmy Hayes) had confirmed his worst fears. The core of General Brooks' American think tank had come to Freya and the Atlantean peninsula. Worse, they had brought with them a man of truly protean genius. A man who obviously was a transplanted Atlantean savage, and who in honor of that heritage had in fact taken the name of Savage. Of course such a man would know how to communicate with a kong like General Scar! Had not the Atlantean savages provided nursemaids to the kong while they in turn were served by the kong's smaller grey cousins?

Obviously, this "Doctor Savage" was here to free his people and challenge Dietz's rule! Worse, he had brought with him the old American counterparts to the German think tank that Dietz himself had led!

And now, the news had gotten worse. He looked at the young, blond wireless operator. The boy had made a discovery, a discovery that Dietz himself had come to confirm.

Dietz put on the boy's headphones.

"Do you hear it, Excellency?" the boy asked.

Dietz did indeed hear it. It was subtle, easy to miss, but he heard pulses of static that could not be natural.

"Yes, I hear them," Dietz said, turning to the boy. "You've done well."

Sitter, standing at Dietz's right elbow, cleared his throat cautiously.

"Begging your pardon, Excellency," Sitter said. "But what do these pulses mean?"

"They are beacons," Dietz said. "Excuse me young…"

"Volkstadt, Excellency," the boy said. "Hermann Volkstadt."

Dietz nodded. He remembered the boy's father. He was a cook and munitions man on the U-170. The man had married one of the passengers from the Hellenic and fathered three boys and a girl before he was claimed by the kong attack on New Prussia one decade ago.

Dietz carefully turned up the volume to the wireless. Then he turned to the frequency used by his ships, tanks, and submarines. As expected, there was no traffic. However, Dietz started to send a message of his own.

_As of now, all wireless traffic is suspended. No exceptions._

As expected, when he finished his transmission, he heard an echo of its very end. It was faint, easy to miss, but it was there.

Dietz turned to the rest of the wireless operators.

"I told you what to look for, but except for this boy (so saying, he pointed to Volkstadt), all of you missed it," Dietz said. "We are facing an enemy of unparalleled cunning. To fight him, we must be more cunning.

"The lot of you are dismissed. Go home and find another way to be useful to your Reich, because here you have failed me and yourselves."

The wireless operators, all more boys than men, filed morosely out of the room. All except for Volkstadt, who beamed with justifiable pride.

"Young man," Dietz said. "I have an assignment for you."

So saying, Dietz turned the frequency dial back to the setting where the pulses were detected. He briefly put the headphones back on to listen for the pulses, and when he found them, he took off his headphones and handed them to the boy.

"I want you to try to separate the pulses," he said. "Wait until night. You should find three sets of signals from three different directions."

"You want me to try to triangulate the sources of the signals," Volkstadt said.

Dietz stared coldly at young Hermann Volkstadt until he remembered how to correctly finish his sentence.

"…Excellency," Volkstadt finished quietly, his eyes looking down in contrition.

"Yes, that is what I want you to do," Dietz said.

Dietz nodded to Sitter, and the two left Volkstadt to his new duties.

* * *

"They figured out we were listening in on their traffic," Long Tom said glumly.

"That's hardly surprising, Long Tom," Doc Savage said. "It is even possible that Dietz knows that he is up against some of his old adversaries, if he had some of the Venture's crew taken captive."

"I've shut down our transmissions to the beacons," Long Tom said. Long Tom had developed, along with Doc, a simple switch which directed the solar and battery powered miniature dirigibles towards the radio on the Rumbler (formerly the radio on the Venture) when the signal was at less than the prescribed strength, and which directed the dirigibles to run parallel to the radio on the Rumbler when the signal was precisely at the prescribed strength. Long Tom had skillfully used this system to steer the dirigibles so that they were over the open ocean, and not running into the trees and cliffs on the peninsula. But now, with the signal from the Rumbler shut off, the dirigibles would simply float aimlessly over the ocean until they were either out of range or destroyed. Long Tom found himself mourning the little devices almost like they were his own lost children. And in a way, considering how much time he had spent developing the things with Doc, that was what they were.

"So what do we do now, Doc?" Renny asked.

"We continue on," Doc said. "We now have a fairly solid location for New Prussia. We keep the Rumbler in the forest but approach as closely to New Prussia as we can. Then, T'maru and I will enter the city and scout it."

"Doc," Monk said. "Don't you remember what Vogt said? The place is surrounded with mines."

"I think I will be able to detect them and avoid them," T'maru said. "And Doc will be able to follow in my footsteps precisely."

Long Tom looked at T'maru, then at Doc, then at his friends. Johnny and Renny appeared to believe in the Black Panther of the Wakanda almost as much as they believed in Doc. Monk and Ham, on the other hand, looked as skeptical as he felt. If Doc had said that _he_ had a way to avoid the mines, Long Tom would have believed him without question. But from any other man, even someone from the legendary Wakanda, the words sounded absolutely crazy.

Doc Savage, however, being Doc, had just the cure for Long Tom's skepticism.

"I have complete faith in T'maru's ability to navigate the minefield," Doc said.

As far as Long Tom was concerned, that settled things.

But it didn't settle things for Jack Driscoll, who had stood silently while listening to the conversation.

"I assume you guys are planning on going into New Prussia at night?" Driscoll asked.

"Yes," Doc said.

"Then you better watch out for the damn bugs, is all I can say."

T'maru smiled and laid his hand on the playwright's shoulder.

"Rest assured, we will closely follow your advice," T'maru said.

* * *

Jimmy Hayes woke and raised his head from the softest pillow, on the softest bed, he had ever known. He looked around "his" room, taking in the door, locked from the other side, and the narrow, semi-opaque window that, from the lack of light coming in through it, told him it was still night. There were a couple of paintings on the wall of the mountain range, including the really huge volcano, north of New Prussia. Other than that, there was a laundry hamper and that was it.

Jimmy flexed his arms experimentally. The effects of the torture the elder Dietz had subjected him to were almost gone now. Really, there hadn't been all that much torture. Some electric shock, some beatings with some sort of rubber hose, and the threat of branding, all while Dietz assured Jimmy that he could tell him everything. Except for the man doing the hitting and the prodding, Jimmy and Dietz were alone during the interrogations.

All in all, he'd gotten worse, sometimes much worse, from his stepfather when he was a boy.

Jimmy Hayes, the new, cold and calculating Jimmy Hayes, had made the decision early on that he would tell Dietz most of what he knew. As it turned out, Dietz had already known a surprising lot. He knew about Doc Savage's aides, particularly Ham, Monk, Renny, and Long Tom (the ones, Jimmy realized, who had served together in the World War). He didn't seem to know as much about Johnny or Doc Savage, and in fact appeared to be really interested in the Man of Bronze, who resembled the native "thralls" who worked throughout the city of New Prussia.

Also, during the torture, Jimmy confirmed the kidnapping of General Scar to New York, and his return. This time, Dietz did not contradict him, which gave Jimmy some information about the senior Adolf Dietz:

One: The objection to General Scar being kidnapped to New York and returned was for the benefit of the other people in the room. Dietz himself had no trouble with the concept.

Two: Therefore, Dietz very much wanted to control everything his underlings heard. The man was paranoid. Jimmy had known several gangsters who were the same way. And the thing about paranoids was, even the brilliant ones could be manipulated.

Jimmy had been so forthcoming about Doc and his aides that Dietz only asked briefly about the dark skinned man (T'maru), and was reassured when Jimmy said that the man was "just some friend of Doc's from Africa". Some sense of caution warned Jimmy against telling Dietz that the Black Panther of the Wakanda was accompanying Doc Savage and his aides. Jimmy knew that Dietz might find out more from interviewing other members of the Venture crew. He tried not to think too much about what might have happened to his surviving crew mates.

In the meantime, after the interrogation, Dietz had given Jimmy back to his son. True to his word, of a sort, Adolf Dietz Junior had made Jimmy his "friend", and put him in a guilded cage, the very room he was now sitting in. Every long day, Junior would open the door to Jimmy's room, accompanied by two burly bodyguards (who nevertheless were dwarfed by Junior himself) and take Jimmy out to "school", which in this case was sitting in a room with a sour looking young woman named "Nutter" while she tried to teach a bored Junior (and now Jimmy) everything from Algebra to European History. Despite her name, Frau Nutter spoke and taught in English. Jimmy himself had dropped out of school at age 10, but since that day he had stowed away on the Venture, Howard University graduate Joshua Hayes had spent many patient hours educating the almost feral stowaway. As a result, Junior now had a school mate he could cheat off of. Jimmy noticed that Frau Nutter carefully pretended not to notice Junior's rather obvious copying off of Jimmy's papers.

But going to "school" with Junior was much better than going out to "play" with Junior.

"Play" consisted of following Junior as he watched the thralls work, primarily in foundries and machinery manufacturing. Junior would look at and pretend to understand the productivity reports the overseers kept. Junior seemed to be particularly anxious to find instances of fallen productivity that he could then "punish". In fact, Junior would make his rounds until he found someone to punish, usually by having them flogged, or by reducing their rations. Once, as Jimmy watched in horror, Junior strangled a hapless old bronze thrall with a piece of wire.

Jimmy was Junior's "best friend". In Junior's case, being a "best friend" meant being the pampered pet of a psychopath.

Jimmy wasn't sure how many more days of "school" and "play" he could stand. And Jimmy had no illusions about what would happen to him when Junior became displeased or bored with him.

* * *

Carl Denham found himself flashing back to when he first heard Ann Darrow screaming behind the great wall of the City of the Dead, and when he had looked through a grated window and first seen King Kong. He remembered how terrified and thrilled he had been.

Now, he was in a forest filled with trees as high as New York skyscrapers, on a branch as wide as a Brooklyn street. He and Hilda stood in a huge intricate nest built from woven branches and leaves. The nest rested in the crook where the huge branch met the trunk of the gigantic tree. It even had an overhanging rain shelter

And in the trees and branches surrounding the nest were other nests, and dozens, perhaps even a hundred or more, kong.

And thousands of red ants as big as border collies.

When King Kong and his even bigger silverback companion had brought them to this place, Denham was stunned to see a tiny infant gorilla in the jaws of one of the ants. He had screamed and tried to take the baby away from the ant, but Hilda had taken his arm.

"Wait, Mr. Denham," she had said.

And sure enough, the next moment, a large female kong, her body crawling with the red ants, climbed onto the branch and, as Denham watched, the ants nursed beads of milk from her breasts and brought them to the infant gorilla. And the infant drank, held in the pincer like jaws of one ant while he nursed between two more pincer like jaws that could easily have bitten his head off.

After the infant finished nursing, the female had taken her infant from the ant holding him and put the little creature on her chest just under her left breast.

Then, the female had started to gesture to them, and Hilda translated.

They soon found out that the female was Kong's daughter.

And in the day since, Carl Denham found himself involved in the strangest war council he had ever seen. Kong's daughter and Hilda translated between Kong and his fellow silverbacks, and Denham. Denham was asked about the slavers, and Denham, as best he could, told Kong about Imperial Germany and the Central Powers, and the Great War. He told Kong about his history as a bomber pilot, a history that Kong seemed to find especially interesting.

Now, Kong and his fellow silverbacks had left, leaving Denham and Hilda in the nest with Kong's daughter and Kiko. Kong's daughter was speaking to Kiko with gestures and once in a while Denham would feel a rumble. Denham suspected that the female kong was teaching Kiko the local lingo. He also noticed that the ants kept their distance from the nest.

Denham remembered worrying that Kong was the last of his kind, but now Denham felt as if he and Hilda were the last humans in a world ruled by giant gorillas and their ants.

* * *

T'maru pulled out his personal bag and reverently removed the sacred garb of the Black Panther. There were several versions of the garb in the bag. T'maru chose the black body suit with a complete black mask. Made of a synthetic thin, breathable fabric invented by Wakandan scientists in the last century, the suit covered the entire body, including the face, while allowing the wearer to remain surprisingly cool. On the end of his fingers, T'maru attached vibranium and steel alloyed "claws" that were extremely sharp. He also took a short pipe, a smaller, less potent but still effective version of the sonic spear, and slipped it into his belt.

Next to him, his blood brother, Clark Savage Junior, dressed in a black outfit of his own, a sleeveless vest with an attatched black hood and black slacks and boots. He also wore a utility belt that had all sorts of items in it, several of which even impressed the technologically savvy prince of the Wakanda. Doc wore a set of goggles around his neck. Co-invented by Doc and Long Tom Roberts, the "night vision" goggles had a battery operated infrared flashlight on the top of them that invisibly illuminated objects for the goggles, which in turn translated the invisible light to visible wavelengths.

The Wakandans had developed other methods on enhancing night vision: Secret herbs and training that allowed T'maru and other Wakandans to see in the dark like the great cats they attempted to emulate.

"Brothers," Doc said. "It is approximately 1 hour to sunset. T'maru and I will move east and hope to reach the edge of the minefield by sundown. By that time, we will have adequate cover of darkness to cross the field and make it to the New Prussian wall. We hope to return by sunrise."

Jack Driscoll raised his hand.

"Does anything else think this sounds like an absolutely insane idea?" he asked.

Doc's friends, Pat, and even Ann Darrow looked at Driscoll as if he had spouted sacrilege.

T'maru found himself chuckling.

"My friend," T'maru said. "Sanity in your case would have been never returning to, as you call it, Planet Terror in the first place."

Driscoll smiled grimly.

"Touché," he said. "Be careful."

"Doc is the most careful reckless person I know," Pat said. "They'll be fine."

With that, Renny opened the Rumbler's top hatch, and the Black Panther and Doc Savage climbed out and began their journey.

* * *

In the mid afternoon, Kong and the huge silverback returned to the nest. Kong's daughter started to gesture to Hilda, and Hilda translated.

"They want you to go with them," Hilda said. "I told them that anywhere you go, I go,"

Denham turned to protest that it was not necessary, but the expression on Hilda's face told him to shut his mouth before he opened it.

When Denham did open his mouth, it was to say one word.

"OK."

After putting Denham and Hilda on his back, Kong and the other, even larger, silverback climbed up the enormous tree and crossed over on a cable like vine to another, even taller tree. On the top of that tree perched four huge rocs.

They all looked alike to Denham, but Hilda immediately turned to one of them and said, "Greetings to you, Great Eye in the Sky."

"**Greetings to you, Hilda MacKenzie**," The Eye said back.

In the subsequent discussion, there was no need for gestures, the Eye directly translated from the language of the kong to English, at least the version of English spoken by Hilda's people.

"**The King of the Kong wants you to ride me, Mr. Denham**," The Eye in the Sky said. "**He believes your experience as a flyer of machines may come in useful for identifying targets for us to…**"

The great bird looked at Denham, clearly wanting him to finish his sentence.

"…bomb," Denham said. "He wants me to help identify _bombing_ targets."

"**Aye**," The Eye in the Sky said. "**We do not have things that explode, but we rocs drop large rocks on our targets with great accuracy. Perhaps it be why some of your kind call us 'rocs'?"**

Denham realized that the huge bird had just made a pun. Coming from a giant bird, it was the funniest thing Carl Denham had ever heard.

And the irony was incredible.

During the Great War, Denham tried to convince his superiors that aerial power could provide an army with an overwhelming advantage. And now, here on another world, he had found someone who would listen:

A giant gorilla!

On the other hand, there was a big difference between flying airplanes and being carried by giant ravens. Minutes after consenting to "ride" the roc, Carl Denham found himself high above the canopy of a huge forest, held in the left clawed foot of the Eye in the Sky. One of the other rocs held Helen in its own claw.

The huge birds flapped their great wings, rising higher and higher into the sky until the forest below looked like it was composed of miniature trees. The air was thinner (but still very breathable) and much cooler (which made Denham feel uncomfortably cold in the clothing of one of MacKenzie's crewmen).

Soon, they were over the open ocean, and on their way to the city of the slavers.

Next

Chapter 26

A Monstrous Place


	26. Chapter 26 A Monstrous Place

**This will be it for awhile. I need to get back to real life. **

**I hope you are enjoying this. **

Chapter 26

A Monstrous Place

Doc and T'maru, mindful of the many dangers of "Skull Island"/Planet Terror/Atlantis, moved carefully through the forest. They came across a group of the giant rats that Monk had named "ratalopes" grazing on the mushrooms and plants growing on fallen tree trunks. Doc noticed that several of the tree trunks, both fallen and still erect, were blackened, and that the canopy up in the huge forest seemed to be thinner.

"I think we are probably even closer to New Prussia than we thought," Doc said to T'maru.

"I concur," said the Black Panther of the Wakanda.

There was a rustling in the thin canopy, and Doc looked up and saw, very high up, two purple forms leaping from branch to branch.

More of the arboreal feathered dinosaurs, Doc realized.

However, the creatures seemed satisfied to watch them from a distance. They showed none of the confident aggression of the creatures that had attacked Doc, T'maru, Ann, Renny, and Kong days earlier. These were clearly creatures familiar with human beings who were armed with guns. Indeed, soon the two creatures stopped following them at all.

"Doc," T'maru said.

Doc turned to look at his blood brother. The Black Panther had stopped, perched halfway up a blackened log. Doc easily leaped up and joined T'maru on the log.

They had come to the end of the forest. In front of them was a barren field where even the massive stumps of the local gigantic trees had been cleared out. Beyond the field was a massive concrete wall, at least 150 yards high, Doc estimated. Along the wall, at about 50 yard intervals, were thick and massive guard towers that were at least another 20 feet higher than the rest of the wall. Vogt had told Doc that there was about three kilometers of cleared out minefield beyond the great defensive wall. However, the late Lieutenant Vogt had understated the case by at least two kilometers.

Doc started to trill, but within seconds he caught himself and cut off the uncanny sound.

T'maru, who was well aware of the meaning of his friend's trilling, said, "Indeed."

Doc and T'maru retreated back into the forest. They would wait until the cover of night to proceed.

And even though both men noticed the two white birds circling above them, even they did not realize that the birds were circling far higher, and were far larger, than they appeared.

* * *

"Blazes!" exclaimed Monk.

"So what are you babbling about now, you stupid ape?" Ham asked his best friend.

Monk was looking out one of the Rumbler's portholes. There were larger windows at the front and the rear, but there were only portholes in the section that contained Monk's and Long Tom's labs.

"Look for yourself, shyster," Monk replied.

Han stepped up and looked out the porthole.

"Good Lord!" exclaimed Ham. Outside the porthole, barely illuminated by the light of the setting sun (which was already dimmed by the huge forest canopy above them), were ants, dozens of red ants the size of mid-sized dogs. The ants had sharp looking and jagged pincer like jaws that looked like they could easily bite a man's foot off.

Long Tom walked into the lab from the front of the Rumbler. In the absence of Doc, he did most of the driving of the thing. .

"Do you see them?" the sickly looking electrician asked.

"If you are talking about nasty looking giant ants, yeah," Monk replied.

Ham turned and went to the rear of the Rumbler and looked out the great mirrored window in the back observation room. What he saw made him feel sick. There were hundreds of giant red ants.

"It looks like we're surrounded," the astute attorney said grimly.

"Yeah," Monk said, coming up behind him. "I hope Doc and T'maru didn't run into those things on their way to New Prussia."

* * *

As soon as the sun set, T'maru led the way across the minefield. His eyesight, specially trained to focus in low light, and altered by specially grown herbs which contained recombinant DNA (Although known to the Wakandans, the nature of genes and chromosomes had not yet been discovered by the outside world. T'maru thought it would not take more than 20 years for scientists in the outside world to learn of the double helix structure of DNA.) , allowed him to see in the dark. Doc had received some of the Wakandan training, but none of the herbal/genetic treatments that Wakandan princes and princesses had. Thus, Doc needed his specially designed goggles to have an approximation of the sort of night vision that the Black Panther had.

T'maru's keen eye sight looked for the slightest elevations and dust settlement patterns. As he suspected, the tectonic nature of this world, where there were slight tides in the mantel itself, caused slightly greater settlement of the ground around the plates of the mine. The difference was infinitesimal, but the Black Panther could see it.

T'maru raised his hand at the first raised portion of ground he came to and very gently, using the claws on the ends of his fingers, swept away the dirt to reveal the pressure sensitive plate underneath. T'maru took a disapproving intake of breath. The Wakandans had invented traps, but never something as deadly and indiscriminate as mines. T'maru moved aside to let Doc take a look at the mine.

"Basic pressure design," Doc said. He cleared dirt around the pressure plate. "A lot of explosive. This single mine would disable the Rumbler."

As Doc carefully and fluidly stood up, he turned and looked at T'maru. The goggles made him look like something other than human. The look was probably even more disconcerting than T'maru's panther suit.

"Do you hear something?" Doc asked.

T'maru nodded. If anything, he had heard the noise before Doc (thanks to some different herbs that enhanced his hearing). It was a buzzing noise coming from the direction of the forest. The next moment, three winged insects approached them. They looked like winged crickets or locusts, but they were much larger. T'maru and Doc had seen them before, and knew that they were omnivorous but seemed to be particularly interested in meat. Through the observation window, T'maru and Doc had watched four of these creatures dismember a "ratalope" just after sunset. Doc's aides, even Long Tom Roberts, had excused themselves from watching the gruesome spectacle.

T'maru and Doc started to run the other way. T'maru took the lead and avoided the slight but telltale raised areas that indicated presence of mines. Doc followed him flawlessly.

Then, T'maru heard Doc gasp behind him. One of the locusts had landed on Doc's back. Doc yanked off one of the insects wings and threw it away from him. Then he grabbed the creature and threw it away from him as well. The creature landed on its back and started to flop around. Both men instantly understood the danger. The injured insect was almost certainly going to set off one of the mines if it continued to flop around like that. The two other insects turned and landed next to their flopping conspecific and started to try to cannibalize it. T'maru ran faster, Doc right behind him. Suddenly, Doc tackled T'maru to the ground.

Behind them, there was the sound of a terrific explosion. Ground pelted them, and there was the sound of a couple of more explosions, one noticeably closer to them.

T'maru and Doc both carefully got up.

"Thanks, Doc," T'maru said.

"I've been watching the areas you are avoiding, and I think I can spot the mines now," Doc said. "The insect I disabled was flopping right on to one of those areas."

T'maru looked around the minefield. He saw no sign of the other two deadly locust like things. But he did see something else.

"Doc, look," T'maru said. There was an area on the minefield with tread marks, as if vehicles similar to the Rumbler had traveled through there.

Doc nodded. The two men moved towards the track marks. Following the track marks would allow them to increase their pace along a pathway free of mines. Soon, Doc and T'maru were moving rapidly towards the wall. And it was a good thing, too, because from the wall two searchlights had been turned on, and they were crisscrossing the area where the explosions had occurred.

* * *

The rocs had returned Carl Denham and Hilda MacKenzie to the kong city just before sunset. Kiko met them at the tree top they had taken off from an hour or two before. Soon, Denham and Hilda were back in the nest occupied by Kong's daughter. Denham saw that many other nests had been built. Kong had built his own nest on a branch just below and over from the nest they were in. Denham noticed that Kong's huge son-in-law joined another one of his females in her nest, which was in the next tree over.

Kong's daughter, whose name Hilda said translated into something like the Wisest Mother, started to gesture to Denham, and Hilda translated. The female kong asked him whether he had seen anything useful in his fly over of the slaver city.

"Yes, I was able to identify the best targets," Denham said. "I found their airfields, their shipyard, their power plant, and their armory."

Hilda had difficulty translating Denham's terminology into the gestural language shared by kong and their human nursemaids. The difficulty was increased by the fact that Hilda herself didn't know what Denham was talking about. So, Denham spent the next couple of hours explaining what he meant, and why each of these targets was so important for disabling the enemy.

* * *

The tracks ended about three miles into the minefield. The tracks just ended, it seemed, in the middle of nowhere.

But Doc and T'maru were not fooled. They started to carefully excavate around the area where the tracks ended, and sure enough they soon unearthed part of a massive metal trap door.

"Very clever," T'maru said.

"Indeed," Doc replied. He ran his fingers along the seam of the door and soon found the locking mechanism. From his utility belt, he took out a miniature cutting torch (the fuel for which had been modified by Monk, T'maru, and himself) and another set of goggles. T'maru, without being asked, immediately moved his body so that it would block most of the light from the torch as seen from the top of the great wall. Doc hunched over his work and, after replacing his light altering and amplifying goggles with his welding goggles (which left him essentially blind in the moonless night), started to work. Soon, he had burned through the great latch of the trap door. Doc disassembled his torch and put it back into his utility belt. He then exchanged his goggles and together, his bronze fingers and T'maru's black gloved fingers probed the seam between the trap door and the frame, then lifted. No two ordinary men, even strong men, could have lifted that door. But neither Doc nor T'maru were ordinary strong men. Within moments, the two men were in the tunnel underneath the mine field, and the trap door was closed with no sign of it having been opened.

There were no lights within the tunnel, and with no light source T'maru announced that even he was essentially blind. Doc, however, had a light source in the goggles he wore. The light source was in the infra-red, so that human eyes could not see it, but Doc could see the light through his goggles. Thus, Doc now took the lead through the underground tunnel.

* * *

Henry Bell trained his binoculars on the area that the two searchlights were sweeping. Usually, there were about two or three mine explosions a night, usually occurring when damn bugs like the _Weta rexes_ or giant spiders chased some hapless creature into the mine field. But, standard procedure was to take a look at the areas where mines exploded. And having three mines go off in rapid succession was not usual.

Bell had once been a New York accountant, a passenger on the Hellenic on his way back from a business trip in London. Dietz had spared his life because he had immediately cooperated with his German captors. Bell hated himself for that. The Germans had first made him a slave, and then when he turned out to be stronger than he appeared, Dietz had "freed" him and made him a part of the New Prussian guard. Bell now supervised two giant, bronze skinned boys, the sons of U-170 crewmen and enslaved indigenous women. The two boys held him in contempt, but because the self proclaimed Kaiser had put him in charge, they did what he said.

"I don't see anything out there," Bell said in his awkward German. "It must have just been some more of those damn bugs."

Not that the bugs themselves weren't frightening and dangerous things. Bell had frightful scars on his back that had been left by _Weta rexes_.

* * *

The tunnel, as revealed through the infrared light, was a wide concrete affair clearly designed for vehicle traffic. Doc smelled oil and spent gasoline. There were light bulbs lining the tunnel but they were not on.

"Curious how the lights are off here," T'maru said.

"Perhaps it's to avoid attracting the giant insects and other arthopods if they were to get in here," Doc said. "You know how some insects seem to be attracted to light."

T'maru grunted his acknowledgement of Doc's words. Then, as Doc saw what seemed to be a bright light through his goggles, the Black Panther took gentle hold of his shoulder.

"I see light," T'maru said.

Doc and T'maru went to the opposing walls of the tunnel and threw themselves flat on the floor where the walls met the floor. Doc shut off the light from his goggles, and soon doffed his goggles. Now he heard footsteps, and he could see the dimly reflected light off the walls of the tunnel. The tunnel was curving to their left (Doc's unerring sense of direction, even underground, indicated that the turn was to the north). Someone was carrying a flashlight (or electric torch) and walking down the tunnel. Doc looked to his right and even he had difficulty picking out the form of the Black Panther hiding in the shadows. Doc made a similar effort to fade into the shadows, and out of his utility belt, he took an anesthetic gas grenade.

The footsteps got louder and the light became brighter. The sound of footsteps paused right at the bend of the tunnel, and the flashlight was now showing brightly on the curved wall in front of them. Then the man, wearing a black military uniform, came around the corner. Doc restrained an involuntary urge to trill, and the effort was so great that sweat appeared on his brow. The hair and skin of the man were the same color as his own, and the man if anything was even taller than Doc!

The man showed his flashlight down the tunnel. T'maru, incredibly, ran ahead of the flashlight and was soundlessly at the man's side without revealing his presence. At least until T'maru leaped upon the man's back and applied a sleeper hold. The giant bronze man tried to throw T'maru off but Doc was upon him and grabbing him by the arms. Even though his fellow bronze skinned man was taller even than Doc, he didn't have Doc Savage's strength. Soon the black clad guard was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Remarkable," T'maru said. "You told us that your mother's people came from here, but it is still simply astounding to see someone else who looks so much like you here."

Doc nodded as he put anesthetic nose plugs into the man's nostrils. The man was really nothing more than a boy, he noted. The boy had a side arm, a pistol similar but not identical to a Lugar. The flashlight was large, with a suitcase like handle. It was solidly and craftily constructed, just as one would expect for something in all probability designed by the brilliant yet ruthless Adolf Dietz.

* * *

Helmut Horst, the son of the late Conrad Horst, directed another worried look at the phone. Klaus was supposed to have checked in six minutes ago. The Kaiser's procedure was clear in cases like this. If the guard station had heard nothing from the patrol man within ten minutes of check in time, the gates were let down and the grey gorillas were unleashed.

The bronze skinned savages (his mother's people) had incredibly trained grey gorillas (which the late Frau Hoffman called _Gorilla servus_, or "slave gorilla") to guard their villages. At one time, according to his slave mother, the grey gorillas had not been trained, and just raided her people's crops and occasionally stole bronze skinned children and infants to eat. But then, four clever men with guns had come and helped to wipe out most of the grey haired beasts. Those that were left, using hand gestures, had pleaded for mercy and were then made into servants, indeed guardians. But then Kaiser Dietz and his men had come, and confronted with overwhelming fire power the grey gorillas had changed loyalties. The bronze skinned men of his mother's people had fought hard, and it was even acknowledged in New Prussian history gallantly, but they had lost.

Now, in exchange for fruit and vegetables from the gardens of New Prussia, the grey gorillas stayed in underground cages and, when called upon, patrolled the tunnels, wiping out everything they found there.

Horst felt a coldness in his chest. Johann Klaus was his friend. They had grown up together in the citizen nursery (basically a child farm for those offspring of crewmen and thralls who were to be given a chance for citizenship in New Prussia). But, to send the grey gorillas into the tunnel when Klaus was still in there would be to sign his friend's death warrant.

"Sir, it's been eleven minutes now," one of his fellow guards said.

Horst hesitated a couple of seconds more. But, the cost of violating the rules of Kaiser Dietz had been made abundantly clear to him since he could first walk and talk.

"Unleash the gorillas," Host ordered.

* * *

T'maru and Doc left the unconscious man child in the tunnel as they moved on. Further into the tunnel, every fourth light along the walls was on. T'maru and Doc moved swiftly and cautiously up the tunnel. According to T'maru's timepiece, which measured different units of time than Doc's did, it had been the equivalent of two hours since they had left the Rumbler. That gave them the equivalent of sixteen hours to get into New Prussia proper, scout the place, and get back to the Rumbler.

In the distance, T'maru heard a scaping sound, like that of a metal automatic gate being opened. T'maru turned and could tell that Doc could hear it too.

The footsteps T'maru heard, so faint as to be almost impossible to hear, were all too familiar. He had only heard them once, years ago on an expedition with the then and now soon to retire Black Panther, the Queen T'imi. There he had seen for himself the grey gorillas that guarded the ruins of Zinj. He remembered the silent, almost catlike steps of their approach. That was what he was, just barely, hearing now.

"Doc, trouble is coming," T'maru said. "Those are grey gorillas I am hearing."

"Like the guardians of Zinj," Doc said.

"Yes, they are quick and strong and they use weapons," T'maru said.

Doc nodded and pulled something out of his utility belt.

"Be prepared to hold your breath," Doc said.

* * *

The beasts were so quick and silent that it appeared as if one moment they were not there, and another they were. They were gorillas, but stunted and malformed somehow. None of them, even the biggest males, had the saggital crest that marked adult silverback gorillas or King Kong. But, Doc knew that these creatures had in fact been bred from mountain gorillas, and in turn, the giant gorillas like King Kong had descended from them.

As soon as the animals appeared, T'maru and Doc both threw the anesthetic grenades they held. The invisible gas immediately took its toll on all of the attacking gorillas except one, the lead male who moved so swiftly he had run ahead of the gas. The beast had something like a billy club that he swung at Doc's head. Doc was barely able to duck the beast's attack, which would have crushed his skull like a peanut shell. Then, incredibly, the Black Panther leaped onto the beast's back and clawed into his neck. Doc aimed a powerful savate kick into the beast's solar plexus. The beast gasped and went down, and the steel and vibranium claws of the Black Panther found his jugular.

* * *

Dietz was awakened by a call in the middle of the night. He pushed his way past the attractive thrall wench that was sharing his bed and answered the phone. Only a call of the direst emergency would occur at this time of night.

"Your Excellency," Sitter said. "I have disturbing news. We have intruders in the tunnels."

Dietz was up and quickly putting on his uniform. The naked bronze girl in his bed moaned.

"Get up and get out," he said to her. She went without a word. By the time Dietz had dressed (he didn't bother to shave) and was at the front door of his apartment, four guards and Sitter himself were there to accompany him.

"What happened?" Dietz asked Sitter.

"At 03:10, the patrol man in the south tunnel failed to check in," Sitter said. "At 03:22, the gorillas were released into the tunnel."

"It should have been 03:20," said Dietz disapprovingly.

"Yes, Excellency," Sitter agreed. "At 04:00, the feeding bell was sounded to get the gorillas to return, but they didn't return. At 04:15, a patrol of 14 men was sent into the tunnel. They found the gorillas all unconscious, except for one that was dead. The sleeping gorillas all had peculiar nose plugs in their nostrils. One of the men removed the nose plugs and got a little woozy. That was when we called you."

Dietz looked at his Freyan watch. It read 04:46.

"It is obvious that the intruders are men, either this 'Doctor Savage' or some of his men," Dietz said. "I want all, and I mean _**all**_, of the Imperial Guard put on alert. I want this man or these men found, I want them captured alive, and I want it done in ten minutes."

Sitter nodded and hurried down the hall to fulfill Dietz's orders. Dietz turned to the leader of his guard detail.

"I want to speak to Helmut Horst," he said.

* * *

After interrogating Helmut Horst, Kaiser Dietz wanted to execute the young man and his entire detail. But, that was not possible. Learning how to manage the grey gorillas took a lot of training, and he could not afford to replace an entire detail. So, he had Horst executed in front of his men via piano wire as an object lesson to the rest and appointed his successor from among them.

By this time, it was 07:14. The intruders had not been found. Johann Klaus had been found unconscious with the same nose plugs in his nostrils that were in the gorilla's. The boy was still barely coherent, but Dietz would interview him later.

* * *

Doc Savage was tired indeed by the time he and T'maru were approaching the Rumbler. In the tunnel, it had been a simple matter to wait around the corner until Dietz's guards found the defeated grey gorillas, and then slip past them while they were distracted by their discovery. The tunnel opened up into one of the guard towers along the great concrete wall. From there, T'maru and Doc were able to explore the kingdom and city of New Prussia. Patrols were everywhere looking for them. However, both Doc and T'maru avoided them with relative ease by expertly blending into the shadows. A couple of times, Doc used another anesthetic grenade to knock out a patrolling guard who got too close.

What Doc had seen in New Prussia had horrified him beyond all measure. He saw men and women, most of them bronze skinned, but also men and women resembling Mesoamerican Indians and Europeans (especially of Spanish ancestry), wearing collars like they were dogs. Even in the middle of the long night, they were working in foundries and farms under the watchful eye of men with whips and clubs and guns (many but not all of who were also bronze skinned and bronze haired). But even worse, on the way out of New Prussia, Doc and T'maru had come across an open charnel pit half filled with human remains by the north end of the huge concrete wall. Doc thought he recognized a member of the Venture's crew in the pit, but it was difficult to be sure. The man's body was half rotted, half buried beneath other bodies, and the neck had been broken. There were huge mounds which Doc was certain contained the remains of filled charnel pits.

Everywhere, he saw the likeness of self proclaimed Kaiser Adolf Dietz on posters and in statues, all extolling his virtues as the man who carved civilization out of a wilderness. After seeing Dietz's vision of "civilization", Clark Savage Junior had never been so proud of his surname.

Getting out of New Prussia had been a task as well, particularly for T'maru. Incredibly, the Black Panther had used his vibranium and steel claws to punch finger holds into the concrete of the north wall! Doc used T'maru's fingerholds to follow him down the wall. Then, the two moved carefully through the minefield. Doc and T'maru not only had to avoid the mines, they also had to evade the patrols looking for them in the minefield, and the searchlights that combed the minefield. The sun was rising by the time they finally made it back to the forest. Then, they had moved carefully in a wide arc south towards the Rumbler, which they approached from the west.

But just as they arrived at the location of the Rumbler, the Black Panther stopped and raised a cautious hand.

"Doc," T'maru said. "We have a problem."

Doc stepped up to T'maru's side and immediately spotted what his Wakandan blood brother meant. The Rumbler was surrounded by an army of giant red ants armed with lethal looking jaws. And some of them were turning in their direction!

* * *

Dietz was a scared man. Paradoxically, Dietz was not afraid of his own fear. Fear kept a man alert. He knew that at any time someone could come and try to take what he had built.

Now, it was clear that intruders had come to New Prussia. Intruders who were either still moving freely through his, Dietz's, kingdom, or who had gotten in and out without being stopped.

But the worst thing had been found on the side of his building. A small, hand painted graffiti message was painted on the side of Dietz's own black skyscraper.

The message, in white paint, said in German and again in English.

_**Freedom is coming.**_

_**Doc Savage**_

**Well, this is it for awhile. For those who might be wondering, yes, the grey gorilla creations of the unfortunately late Michael Crichton's book **_**Congo**_** are indeed also the "ape men" from Conan Doyle's **_**The Lost World. **_**Interestingly, Crichton based his grey gorillas in part on reports of the "Bili ape", which indeed does exist and was "discovered" by western eyes after **_**Congo**_**was published (of course, the native people had known about the creatures)! However, these apes are large, grayish chimpanzees genetically almost identical to the subspecies **_**Pan troglodytes **__**schweinfurthii**_**, but behaviorally and physically distinct in a number of ways. Sadly, like other great apes, they are in great danger of going extinct before we really know much of anything about them. **

**Also, I realize that some of the images in this chapter are disturbing (which makes me think I should rethink my rating from K+ to T), but Dietz is a very disturbing bad guy. To me, he is a human monster in the mold of a Josef Stalin, and much worse than even your typical Doc Savage bad guy.**

**Also, by the way, Doc Savage novels are being republished by Sanctum Press in association with Nostalgia Ventures, Inc. Check them out!!**

**We are coming close to the end of this story. I am not sure exactly how long the end will be, but here is the list of final chapters as I have it laid out now (but it may take a couple of more to actually get to the end). But, like I said, this story is going on hiatus again for awhile. **

**So, farewell for now, have a nice spring. **

Chapter 27

Reunions, Part 2

Chapter 28

Attack of the Thunderbirds

Chapter 29

King Kong Attacks!

Chapter 30

War

Chapter 31

War and Afterword


	27. Chapter 27 Reunions, Part 2

Chapter 27

Reunions Part 2

Jack Driscoll had been walking through the jungle for hours. His progress was interrupted by the sounds of things crawling, slithering, and creeping in the night. Above him, he heard the sound of immense wings. His entire body felt like one big bruise, except for the parts that felt like they had been ripped open. The pain seemed to mock him. _**You**__ are going to __**save**__ her, skinny college boy? __**You**__?? You can barely __**walk**__, fool. _

But walk he did, and when necessary to get through the thick undergrowth, he crawled. There was little light. The moon was a blue sliver (_**Blue**__? Why was that?)_, and even though the stars were bright, they were usually obscured by the canopy of trees. The humidity retained the hot, sticky heat of the Skull Island day, but breathing was easy.

_What are you doing, Jack? You can't even see where you are going, much less follow a trail. _

At first, he had gone into the cave he had seen Kong come out of. No giant gorilla, no Ann. But, the cave turned out to be a tunnel, open on both ends. By the time Jack had come out the other end, the sun had set.

Driscoll came upon a small clearing. The clearing was occupied by a couple of horned dinosaurs, their frills and noses bristling with spikes. They were munching the plants that carpeted the clearing. The creatures looked placid, but Driscoll remembered the last time he had seen one of the things.

Driscoll carefully edged his way back into the brush, and circled around the clearing.

He needed some way to get his bearings. Looking around, he found a tree that looked climbable. Carefully, as best he could, he looked up into the foliage of the tree, but it was too dark to see anything, and he knew _anything_ could be waiting for him up there.

Driscoll took a deep breath. He wasn't going to find Ann blundering around in the jungle without having any idea which way he was going. So he climbed. About halfway up the tree, he grabbed a branch that was surprisingly warm and pliable and did not feel at all like a tree branch. The branch moved under his hand, and he realized what he was feeling.

_Scales_.

The snake was _enormous_! Its triangular head turned and even in the dark Driscoll could see the snake's yellow eyes, and its slit pupils. The snake was probably at least 20 feet long and Driscoll was sure the thing would have no trouble eating him.

But then, the snake turned away and resumed its position draped over two branches, its head down. Then, as Driscoll watched, the snake moved with startling quickness, snatching a huge flying insect from out of the air. It was one of those damn locust things Jimmy had shot off of him. The big snake made quick work of the struggling giant insect as it tilted its huge head back and rapidly gulped the bug down.

"Good choice, snake," Driscoll muttered. The lump made by the locust's body moved with surprising swiftness down the serpent's gullet. When the bulge was about six feet from the serpent's head, it undulated easily and majestically to the branches of the next tree. Driscoll was almost sorry to see the thing go. For a moment, it was almost as if he had found an unexpected ally in the jungles of Skull Island.

Then he remembered Ann, and he resumed his climb up the tree. When he reached the top, he found what he was looking for.

There was a huge spire sticking up to the night sky. The top part of it looked like it could have been built with human hands. On the left side (the north side), about two thirds of the way up, there was a spectacular waterfall that fell into a river. The river circled around the west (Driscoll's side) of the spire, before it ran down a series of rapids into open sea.

Thanks to the light from the Milky Way and the sliver of blue moon overhead, he saw them. They were on a ledge to his right, perhaps 50 feet from the top of the spire, overlooking the rapids and the ocean beyond and facing to the south. He could see the giant gorilla, the ones the natives called Kong, and sleeping in his left hand, looking tiny and vulnerable, was Ann Darrow, the beautiful, brave, and achingly sweet woman who loved his plays. Ann, the beautiful woman who captivated an entire crew of rough and ready men, and yet was smitten with _him_, Driscoll, a man so shy he never even dated until he was a junior at SUNY (and then only after the girl had asked _him _out). He remembered their meeting in her cabin on the _Venture_, before that first horrible trip to shore. _We'll kiss again when we get back_, she had said. But it had never happened. The savagely insane natives of Skull Island had taken Ann away to be sacrificed to their even more savagely insane ape god!

He figured the spire was probably 900 feet tall, which meant that Ann and the big ape were about 850 feet up. Furthermore, Driscoll figured he was still about a mile away, with a jungle full of Jack eating insects, carnivorous dinosaurs, head eating worms, and maybe even other giant snakes that may not be as finicky as his former tree mate. And if he made it through the forest, he would have to cross a river undoubtedly patrolled by giant amphibian fish and God knew what else, and after all that he would have to climb 850 feet to rescue Ann from a giant ape who could squash him like a bug upon awaking.

_You're __**insane**__. You know that, Driscoll?_

Driscoll looked at luminous dial of his watch, like it made a difference. He had noticed that the days were freakishly long, and so were the nights. He realized he had no idea how long he had before sunrise.

It was best to hurry, but not hurry so much that he failed to notice anything that might eat him. Driscoll climbed down the tree, and carefully started to move towards the spire. Occasionally, he climbed a tree again to regain his bearings. Once, he came across a big eyed, rather cute looking animal that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a monkey. Then the animal opened its mouth, showing huge, sharp looking teeth, and hissed. Driscoll thought it was going to rip out his throat, but it leaped to another tree instead.

_I hope you get eaten by my buddy the snake, _Driscoll thought.

Each time Driscoll climbed a tree, he was closer to the spire. Each time, he was closer to Ann.

That was his plan, to get to Ann.

He had no idea what he would do when he finally reached her.

Hours later, he emerged from the brush and found himself on the river's rocky shore. The west side of the spire was a huge cliff on the other side of the river. Without hesitation (sensing that if he hesitated, he would still be standing on shore when the sun rose), Driscoll plunged into the river. He was a fair swimmer, not as good has his big brother the former lifeguard, but he was good enough. And Driscoll was very motivated to swim across the river as fast as he could, before his splashing attracted a hungry _whatisit _with big teeth. By the time it registered on Driscoll that he had made it across the river, he was twenty feet of so up the side of the spire. The climb was surprisingly easy. For the first hundred feet, there were lots of handholds, and ledges to rest on. After the first hundred feet, however, the cliff became sheer. Refusing to give in to despair, Driscoll crept cautiously from ledge to ledge, looking for a handhold up, and he eventually found vines draping the side of the spire next to the waterfall. The vines extended above the waterfall to the ledge above! Hoping the vines didn't have poison sap and thorns, he started to climb, changing from one vine to another when one ran out.

Once, about halfway up the vines, Driscoll looked down, and the dizziness he felt told him what a mistake that had been.

_Lord_, he prayed, _**don't**__ let the vines break!_

His arms felt like rubber and he could only find the tiniest of ledges on which to rest his feet and take the strain off his arms. The farther up he got, the more rest breaks he had to take.

But _Ann_ was up there, and he wasn't going to stop now. So he kept climbing, and he did so with such intensity that he didn't even notice the giant bats that occasionally circled close to him in curiosity.

When he finally reached the ledge, his arms were numb, and it took a major act of will to let go of the vines that had been his lifelines for the long, long climb. He crept through the cave. There were the skeletons of other giant gorillas, but it seemed like something was missing.

_Weren't there giant__** bats**__ in here the last time?_ Driscoll thought.

_The __**last**__ time? Have you lost your __**mind**__, Driscoll? You think that you make regular trips here?_

Finally, he made his way through the cave and to the opposite ledge, and there they were. The ape was huge. The giant beast who tossed Hayes into a tree like a piece of garbage, and dumped them all into the abyss, now looked peaceful in sleep. And Ann was sleeping in his hand as if she hadn't a care in the world. He crept forward and touched Ann lightly. She opened her eyes, and he put his hand over her mouth.

Then Ann batted his hand aside.

"It's about _time_ you got here, Jack Driscoll!" Ann said, not at all quietly. "What on _Earth_ were you _thinking _wandering around Planet Terror all by yourself at night? We've been _worried sick_!"

_Planet __**Terror**__? _Driscoll thought. _Why does that sound so familiar? _

Then Driscoll thought, _**We've **__been worried sick??_

At that moment, "Terror" went from becoming the name of a planet to an all encompassing feeling as the great ape opened his eyes and glared straight at Jack Driscoll!

_Oh God, I'm going to die! _Driscoll thought. Ann, however, looked unconcerned and simply put her hands on her hips and clucked disgustedly.

"_Honestly,_ Jack, what are we going to _do_ with you?' she said even as Kong's huge hand scooped him up.

_He's going to throw me off the spire, _Jack thought. But then, the huge gorilla took him into the cave instead. Deep inside, the gorilla reached out and turned on a giant light switch.

_A giant __**light**__ switch_???

Revealed by the overhead light that Kong switched on, carved into the clay floor, were squares. Rammed into the squares so that they were sticking up vertically out of the clay were pieces of wood of various sizes. Kong gently put Driscoll on the ground next to the squares. On Driscoll's side, the pieces were dark. On the other side, _Kong's_ side, the pieces were light.

_Wait, _Driscoll thought. _I recognize this! This is a __**chess board**__!_

Indeed, and next to the giant, Kong sized chess board carved into the clay floor of the cave was another, normal sized chess board with normal, wooden chess pieces.

"You know that you're the only one who gives him a decent game since Doc, T'maru , and the boys left," said a familiar voice. Driscoll turned and saw Carl Denham, smoking a pipe and grinning like the cat that ate the canary. "He's been climbing the walls waiting for you to come back. As in _literally_ climbing the walls, if you know what I mean."

"Wait…wait…aren't you in the city of the dead?" Driscoll said. "Waiting for Ann and me to return so that you can capture Kong?"

"_**What**_?" Denham said. "Have you gotten yourself hit on the head again? That was _ages _ago, we're _all_ on the same page now, right big guy?"

So saying, Denham looked up at Kong. Kong snorted and sat down and moved a pawn to queen's knight 4. Without thinking, Driscoll moved the white pawn on his own board to the same position.

"Can I get you boys something to drink?" Ann asked.

"Water," Driscoll said, feeling very odd as he considered his first move. "_Just_ water."

"Yep," said Denham. "We're _all _on the same page now, _right_ girls?"

Driscoll turned to look back at the pipe smoking Carl Denham, only to see him surrounded by hundreds of three foot long red ants with lethal looking jaws.

And they all started to take up Denham's voice.

_We're __**all**__ on the same page now._

And at that, Jack Driscoll opened his eyes, and heard the voice of Carl Denham coming from every direction.

* * *

"Jack?" Pretty Ann Darrow said as she removed her blond head from Jack Driscoll's shoulder. Driscoll looked up into those wide and beautiful blue eyes.

"Where are…?" he started to ask.

Oh, _right_. He was in the Rumbler, with Doc Savage and his crew.

Ann rolled off of him and onto the floor, leaving Driscoll swinging in the hammock. Driscoll reached his hand out and grabbed the hammock above him (usually Ann's hammock) to stop the swinging. Then he swung off the hammock to stand next to Ann. The metal floor was cold underneath his bare feet.

_Now_ he remembered! He and Ann had shared the last watch of the night, right up to sunrise, with Savage's man Long Tom Roberts. Doc Savage and T'maru had left in the night to scout the city state of New Prussia. Less than an hour after they left, the Rumbler was surrounded by hundreds, maybe even _thousands_, of giant red ants!

Then, at first light, Savage and T'maru had returned. Ann was the first one to see them.

"Jack!" she cried out as she looked out the port hole. "They're _back_!"

Driscoll and Long Tom both ran to her side, just in time to see the lethal looking giant red ants surround the two men!

"_Listen_!" Long Tom exclaimed. "Wake _everyone_ up! I'm going to try to drive the Rumbler over there to rescue them!"

Driscoll put his hand on Log Tom's shoulder as the sickly looking engineer turned to run to the front of the Rumbler. When Driscoll thought about it later, he was glad that Long Tom Roberts, with his considerable hand to hand combat skills, did not take offense at being touched!

"_Wait_!" Driscoll had said. "Don't you _hear_ something? I hear _voices_…"

No, not voices, _one_ voice, reproduced from several sources. It sounded like multiple old wax cylinder recordings of the same voice, all saying the same thing. It was a voice that Jack Driscoll had no difficulty recognizing

It was the voice of _Carl Denham_!

For the most part, Driscoll couldn't make out what Denham's voice was saying, but he thought he heard "Doc Savage" and "Babe Ruth".

"Wait a minute, I _know_ what this is!" Long Tom exclaimed right before he climbed up the ladder and slightly opened the hatch (not wide enough so that one of the ants could get in). Seconds later, he re-closed the hatch and dropped to the floor.

"It's _German_," Long Tom said. "And it's a question, an old trick from the war."

"What do you mean?" Ann asked.

"The voices of Denham are asking who Babe Ruth pitched for," Long Tom replied.

"That would be the Yankees right?" Ann said.

"No," Driscoll replied. "That would be the Boston Red Socks. Ruth's never _pitched_ for the Yankees."

"Exactly!" Long Tom said. "And if Doc was being held prisoner by Dietz, he would say the Yankees. The bad guys would be none the wiser, but Denham would know that Doc's a prisoner. But when Doc answers the Red Sox, Denham will know that Doc is still a free man."

"Wait a minute!" Ann exclaimed. "You mean the ants are messengers from Carl _Denham_?"

"Seems like it," Long Tom said. "Don't ask me to explain it!"

Driscoll chuckled.

"That's _Carl_," Driscoll had said. "Always making new friends and landing on his feet."

And sure enough, the reproductions of Carl Denham's voice were soon replaced by reproductions of _Doc Savage's_ voice, all saying the same thing:

_The Boston Red Sox. _

By this time, the rest of Savage's crew, including Pat, had gotten up and crowded around them.

"Is that _Doc's_ voice?" Monk asked in a sleepy squeak.

"Who do you _think_ it sounds like, you stupid ape, Betty_ Boop_?" Ham grumbled. "What's going on Long Tom?"

"I'm not sure, but it appears that these ants can relay messages," Long Tom said. "And they've just relayed a message to Doc from Carl Denham, and now Doc's having the ants relay a message back!"

They all stood around and listened for awhile before Long Tom looked at Driscoll and Ann.

"Why don't _you two_ get some shuteye?" he asked with uncharacteristic gentleness. "Everyone _else_ is up now, and I think we're _all _going to stay put for awhile."

Driscoll nodded and took Ann by the hand. Outside the port widow, Driscoll could see the ants parting like the Red Sea, opening a path between the Rumbler and Doc and T'maru.

"C'mon," he said to Ann. "Long Tom's right, Ann, you _look _as tired as I feel."

With that, Driscoll led Ann to the hammocks. Driscoll waited for Ann to climb into the top hammock.

"Jack, why don't _you_ go in first?" Ann asked. "I think I'm too tired to climb up to that upper hammock this morning."

Jack Driscoll didn't buy that excuse for a minute, but with a grin he got into his hammock. A moment later, Ann carefully climbed in with him, laying beside him and putting her head on his chest. For awhile, they just laid together, not saying anything. Eventually, Driscoll talked about the comedy, _Cry Havoc_, he had written for Ann on the Venture. Ann, in reply, confessed that she had borrowed money to buy tickets for the play's first available matinee. Of course, she had _missed_ the matinee by virtue of joining the play's author on a return trip to "Skull Island"!

"Who loaned you the money for the performance?" Driscoll asked. He knew that Ann's wages as a dancer on an off Broadway stage were not enough to cover the cost of one of his plays.

"Jimmy Hayes," Ann answered. "With his cut from the advance gate for Mr. Denham's King Kong fiasco."

"When did you see _him_?" Driscoll asked.

"He came to watch me dance," Ann said. "The dancing is not something I am proud of, but I was so touched that he came to see me, particularly after the angry words we'd exchanged about Kong. He even took me out to dinner afterwards!"

Ann's lovely blue eyes then went wide.

You _know_ it was just a friendly visit, _right_ Jack? I mean, he's like a little brother to me!"

"Of _course_ I do," Driscoll replied hastily. "Jimmy's a _sweetheart_."

"Oh Jack, do you even think he's still _alive_?" Ann asked.

"We don't know for a fact that he's dead," Driscoll said. "And until we do, I can hope."

"You're so much more optimistic than _I_ am, Jack," Ann replied. Driscoll could think of nothing to say to that. Although Ann hadn't really said much to him about her past, he knew that there was tragedy in it. Driscoll tried to think of a way to change the subject, but by the time he had thought of something, Ann's breathing had become regular and deep.

Driscoll drifted off to sleep soon thereafter, to dream of snakes, vines and chess matches.

* * *

Four hours later, according to his watch, Driscoll was putting on his socks and shoes while Ann was slipping on her boots.

"I think we're _moving_," Driscoll said as he felt the thrum of the Rumbler's engine beneath his feet.

"We _are_ moving," said Pat as she walked up and stood next to Ann. "The ants relayed a message from Denham to follow the path, and the ants literally opened up a path for us to follow."

And sure enough, when Driscoll stopped and listened, he heard what the reproductions of the voice of Carl Denham were saying all around him.

_Follow the path. We're __**all**__ on the same page now._

"Isn't this telling that awful Kaiser Dietz where to look for us?" Ann asked. Driscoll wondered the same thing.

"Actually," William Harper Littlejohn said as he joined them. "The multitude of repetitive insectoid reproductions of the articulations of the erstwhile celluloid administrator are camouflaging our tracks quite suitably."

Ann looked at Driscoll with a half confused, half disgusted look on her face.

"He _means_ that the ants are literally everywhere all saying the same thing, so the Kaiser's men have no idea where to look for us," Pat said before Driscoll could open his mouth. "Jeez, Johnny, do you have to make everything sound so darn complicated?"

"So we're on our way to see Carl?" Driscoll asked.

"Yeah," Pat said. "And get this, apparently he isn't alone. Carl says he has friends with him. _Big_ friends."

* * *

Jimmy Hayes woke up in the soft bed of his guilded cage. He'd been dreaming of Carl Denham, and now that he was awake he could _swear_ he was still hearing…

The door slammed open, and standing there with a grim expression on his face was Adolf Dietz the Second.

"Get _up_!" Junior barked. "My father wants to talk to you.

" _**Now**_!"

Jimmy had the feeling that this time Junior wasn't asking him to go "play".

* * *

Nathan "Nate" Reynolds, surviving crewman of the Venture, was worried. Henderson wasn't doing so well. He wasn't eating and unless one of the others insisted he wasn't drinking either, and he was hot to the touch. The rest of the men seemed to be doing all right for now, but Reynolds had no idea how long that would last.

After they had been taken, and Harker and Jimmy had been taken away never to return, guards had come and taken them each to be interrogated. There was pain with the interrogation, but for the most part it hadn't been nearly as bad as it could have been. They were mainly asked about Englehorn, Doc Savage, and Savage's aides, who they seemed to know by name. They were not asked about T'maru, and Reynolds, to whom the rest now looked as their unofficial leader, had suggested in whispers that they not volunteer information about the Prince of the Wakanda.

After a couple of very long days, the interrogations stopped. The guards brought them "thrall collars" and forced the men to put them on. They were then put to work. The days were long (because, well, the days were long) but the work, separating out scrap metal in a foundry, was no harder than work on board the Venture (although it was more monotonous). From a distance, Reynolds and the others had seen how other "thralls" were worked in the nightmarishly hot bowels of the foundry. It was like something out of Dante, with overseers with whips playing the demons, and thralls playing the damned souls.

"Why do you think we are getting off so easily?" von Kroenigswald had asked.

"I think they don't want us mixing with the general population," Ashford said.

Reynolds agreed. It wasn't out of kindness that they had drawn the relatively easy assignment. The work kept them isolated. The man in charge (the fellow whose picture was up all over the damn place) didn't want them talking to anyone else.

Reynolds also had another suspicion, one he did not share with his crewmates. He had a feeling the only reason why they were being kept alive, and why they were receiving a relatively light workload, was that the man in charge saw them as potential sources of information. Specifically, Reynolds suspected that Savage and his crew were still out there, and until they were found and dealt with, the man in charge wanted to keep all remaining potential informers alive.

When the man in charge decided he no longer needed the information that might be in their heads, they were dead.

And that was the _other_ reason why Reynolds was worried. Their work shift should have started hours ago, but they were still in their cell.

* * *

Dietz was rattled.

He tried not to show it. He made a great show of looking out the window, then inspecting a glass paperweight on his desk before turning in his swivel chair, leaning forward, and motioning Jimmy Hayes to a chair in front of his desk.

Dietz was performing. Dietz was trying to impress Jimmy, to convince the young sailor that he was still in control.

And that's how Jimmy knew that Dietz was very shaken indeed. Kaiser Adolf Dietz would not be putting on a show for someone like Jimmy Hayes if he was confident that he was still controlling events.

Meanwhile, as if to confirm his father's inner agitation, Adolf Dietz the Second was trying to intimidate Jimmy with a glare. Jimmy ignored Junior. He wasn't important.

This time, there were no guards in the office, just Jimmy, Dietz, and Junior. Nevertheless, there were still two very large guards armed with pistols standing right outside the door. Jimmy had no illusions about being able to kill Dietz before the guards outside, much less the gigantic Junior himself, could stop him.

"Open the window," Dietz ordered his son. Junior didn't protest. He went over and turned the crank that opened the window behind Dietz's desk.

Usually in New Prussia there was a lot of noise. Factory whistles, rumbling trucks, and all sorts of machine noises. But now, the industrial noise that typically dominated the soundscape of New Prussia was silent.

Instead there was something else. Voices! No, not voices, the _same_ voice, coming from everywhere at once! A very _familiar_ voice! Jimmy knew he would not be able to keep the surprise off of his face, so he didn't even try.

The reproductions of Carl Denham's voice were all saying the same thing, but Jimmy could not make it out. It was like listening to crowd noise, if the entire crowd was made up of Carl Denhams!

"Shut the window," Dietz ordered Junior. Junior cranked the window shut and then directed an accusing glare at Jimmy. Jimmy turned and looked at Dietz. Dietz's hands were clasped on his desk.

The picture of the Kaiser of New Prussia in complete control. The picture of a lie.

"So, young Mr. Hayes," Dietz said. "Do you recognize that voice?"

* * *

Except for a flicker of momentary surprise when he heard the ants mimicking _someone's_ voice, the expression on Jimmy Hayes' young face was a mixture of determination and resignation. It was an expression Dietz recognized. Young Mr. Hayes harbored no illusions about his eventual fate, but he was determined to take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself for revenge. Dietz respected that, and deep down he knew his own son lacked the willpower and native intelligence to cultivate such a state. If it was Adolf Dietz the Second in Jimmy Hayes' situation, he would alternate between blustering and blubbering.

"That's Carl Denham's voice," Jimmy said.

"The motion picture director you said captured General Scar?" Dietz asked. "The man who, after he was disgraced, joined your crew? The man you assumed was dead?"

"Yes, Excellency," Jimmy said.

A smart boy indeed! Humor the captor, stay alive, wait for a real opportunity. Dietz wanted to tell the boy it was hopeless. That he, Dietz, would _never _let his guard down!

But no, the boy _deserved_ to take his chance for revenge. He would instruct his guards, when Jimmy Hayes finally acted, to kill the boy _swiftly_. The boy was brave enough to deserve that much.

And after all, Dietz had far more important enemies to worry about.

"We had a visitor last night," Dietz said. "He got through my minefield, my sentries, and my traps. And then he got out again."

Jimmy Hayes looked at Dietz.

"Doc Savage, Excellency?" Jimmy asked. Dietx could tell that the young Jimmy Hayes was trying very hard to keep the triumph out of his voice.

"Yes," Dietz replied. "He even signed his name for me."

Again, there was a flicker of momentary surprise, but then it was gone. Jimmy Hayes did not ask where or on what Doc Savage signed his name.

"You said this 'Doc Savage' looks like the natives here," Dietz said.

"Yes, Excellency," Jimmy said.

"Did he ever say anything about coming from here?" Dietz asked.

"No, Excellency," Jimmy answered.

Dietz wasn't sure if he believed him, but that wasn't important. There were other members of Englehorn's former crew who could be asked the same question.

Dietz turned to his son.

"Take _good_ care of him, boy," Dietz said. "I may need to talk to him again."

Jimmy Hayes stood up and bowed to Dietz. Dietz recognized a performance when he saw one. The boy would make his move soon.

Adolf Dietz the Second walked out of his father's office, his huge hand on Jimmy Hayes' upper arm.

After they had left, and he was alone in his office, Dietz allowed himself a moment to react. A _man_ had broken into his city, explored it with impunity, and left as quietly as he had come! A _man_, this Doctor Savage, had the gall to issue a challenge to Kaiser Dietz on his home ground! And now someone new, _another_ man, this Carl Denham, had somehow gotten the mimic ants to do his bidding! And on top of all this, _General Brooks and his think tank_ were involved in this as well!

But behind it all, it was _General Scar_ who was pulling the strings. Of this, Dietz had no doubt! Scar might have lost his kong army, but he had somehow survived to create a new army of men and ants and God only knew what else!

Dietz pushed the button of the intercom on his desk.

"Sitter!" he barked. "Come here! I want to go over the arrangements for increasing security around the airfields again."

It was the airplanes that had defeated General Scar before. Dietz had little doubt that Scar and his allies were making plans to neutralize that advantage this time! However, once again Scar would find that Adolf Dietz was ahead of him.

* * *

Pat Savage was sitting on the floor holding her ears.

"I never want to hear Carl Denham's voice again!" she exclaimed.

Pretty Ann Darrow sympathized. Her relief (which actually surprised her a little) about Carl Denham being alive had gradually been replaced by annoyance at the unending ant reproductions of…

"_Follow the path. We're __**all**__ on the same page now._"

In fact, the voice of Carl was obviously getting to everyone except for Doctor Savage and T'maru. The two men sat across from one another, cross legged, and did exercises that Renny told her were "isometrics". Johnny then confessed, with T'maru's blessing, that most of the particular exercises that Doc performed daily to maintain his astonishing strength were yet another innovation that originally came from the Wakanda.

Long Tom and Monk were now piloting the Rumbler, and for the last fifteen hours they had been moving away from the city of New Prussia. The pathway the ants opened up for them seemed to go through the most overgrown parts of the forest.

Once in awhile, over the Denham recordings from the ants, they heard the engine of an airplane.

"They're looking for us," Ham said.

"You figure that out all by yourself, shyster?" Monk said. "Good to see that Harvard education used for something."

And that's how it went. Ann found herself hoping that Monk and Ham would renew their quarrel, to give them something else to listen to other than Carl Denham's insect recorded voice. But that prospect ended when Monk went forward to sit with Long Tom.

During most of the trip, Jack Driscoll was holding her hand. However, outside of writing plays, Jack was a man of few words. Ann would have given almost anything for Jack Driscoll to be more of a chatterbox, at least for the moment.

Then, the voices of Carl Denham faded away, and stopped altogether.

From the front of the Rumbler, the voice of Long Tom Roberts called out:

"Wherever we're going, I think we're here!"

With that, the Rumbler came to a complete stop. Ann accompanied everyone else to the Rumbler's control room. There, Doc Savage was pushing a button and a metal panel was sliding back to reveal a huge, panoramic front window.

Ann gasped.

Standing in front of the Rumbler, Ann saw Carl Denham, who was holding hands with an absolutely beautiful young woman with coffee colored skin. The young woman, in turn, rested her other hand on the forearm of a kong with striking white hair and dark skin. He was not even half the size of King Kong, which meant that he was still huge.

And looking down at the Rumbler was the _familiar scarred visage of King Kong_! And behind Kong, the "little" white kong, Carl Denham, and his female companion were _dozens_ of other kong, all close to the size of the great King Kong himself!

_One was even bigger!!_

And milling around them all, and even climbing on the bodies of the kong, were _hundreds_ of the giant red ants!

Ann's vision blurred. As she started to cry with uncontrollable joy, she was embraced by the strong arms of Jack Driscoll.

_Kong. Wasn't. Alone!_

As Ann slowly regained control over her happy sobs, she breathed a prayer of thanks for her huge anthropoid friend.

* * *

Theodore Marley (Ham) Brooks was in awe. Although the astute attorney would never have admitted it, his friendship with the ape like Monk had expanded to a fascination with great apes. Ham had read every work he could get a hold of from such great primatologists as Wolfgang Kohler and Robert Yerkes.

But _never _had he seen a sight like this! _Dozens_ of giant gorillas, each one larger than a small house!

Ham, however, was not only a lawyer, he was a military man, and he recognized an army when he saw one.

"Looks like Kong's ready to go to war," Ham said.

"That ain't the _half_ of it, shyster," Monk said. "Look up!"

Ham looked up, and was struck speechless at the sight of dozens of gigantic white birds sitting on the branches of skyscraper sized trees.

"Looks like old Kong got himself an air force, too" Renny said.

**This chapter was not an easy one to write, particularly the sequential flashbacks from Jack Driscoll's point of view! To those of you still with me, let me know how this chapter flowed for you. **

**Note: A tip of the hat to Nate the Ape and Rebecca Ann. To get myself in the mood for describing Jack Driscoll's perilous trip to Kong's spire, I reread parts of both **_**The Once and Future King **_**and **_**The Writer and the Actress.**_

**This story will be going back on hiatus for awhile, but when I return, it is the beginning of the end. **

Next

Chapter 28

Attack of the Thunderbirds


	28. Chapter 28 Crystal Evans, Remembered

**Well, I am back, at least briefly. I have done a lot of cosmetic editing, and have altered some content, on this story. I also realized, after returning, that I needed at least one more chapter than the set of chapters I promised. So, here it is. **

Chapter 28

Crystal Evans, Remembered

Ever since he was a young boy, Carl Denham wanted to be Important. He wanted to change the world.

Carl became the first Denham to go to college, West Point in fact. But, when the United States got involved in the Great War, Denham dropped out and became a pilot. He tried to promote the importance of air power, but the war ended before he could change the face of modern warfare. Before he could become Important.

Not one to easily change course, Denham then volunteered to fly for Poland against Russia's new Bolshevik rulers. In his first week, the Soviets shot him down and put him in their prison camp. It took him a year to find a way to escape. He returned to the states broke, and understanding that he had to find another way to be Important.

After he had recovered from his prison ordeal, Denham decided that movies were a way to become Important. Movies documented history. It showed people parts of the world they would otherwise never see. So, Carl Denham went to California to learn the craft of making movies. And he succeeded. His documentaries opened for features in movie houses across America, and then other countries. Apparently, even the Soviet Union.

But in the world of movies, modest success was simply...modest. He wasn't changing the world. And in Carl Denham's mind, changing the world had become the only way to become Important.

And even modest success proved temporary in the end, as his audiences lost interest in his documentaries.

But in the face of continued failure, Denham's ambition continued to grow. He started taking more short cuts and ever more dangerous risks. In the end, he lied and cheated his way into an expedition, went to another world, and after great loss of life, kidnapped its king. He brought the king to New York, and more loss of life followed.

_Crystal Evans_ followed.

After that, Carl Denham finally scaled back his ambitions.

He now simply wanted to be a better man. The kind of man who would never again sacrifice honor on the altar of his ambition, only to leave massive pain, misery, and destruction as his legacy.

And yet, Carl Denham's simple desire to become a better man now led him to become a key military advisor to the very king he wronged. A king now fighting to save the last remnants of his people.

Ironically, in giving up his ambition, Carl Denham had finally become Important.

Denham felt no fulfillment in this. He simply felt terrified. Because the price of being Important in war was that, regardless of whether his efforts met with success _or_ failure. the ultimate result would be the same:

Massive pain...

...misery...

...and oh, yes indeed...great, _great _destruction.

* * *

Andrew Blodgett (Monk) Mayfair was both a scientist and a warrior, and as one of Doc Savage's "brothers", he had seen and done incredible things.

And yet, this adventure had provided one unprecedented surreal moment after the other.

But none more surreal than this moment! Monk was sitting on the branch of a tree three or four hundred feet high. The branch was as broad as a four lane highway and thicker than a large smoke stack. Beside him were Ham, to his left, and Jack Driscoll, to his right. Ann Darrow, clearly happier than he had ever seen her, was sitting to Driscoll's right with her head on his shoulder. They had all been carried up by kong. Monk had been carried up by a female kong that Denham identified as being King Kong's daughter.

Monk was a brave man, but he had squealed like a stuck pig when Kong's daughter first picked him up. Ham, who was being carried up by a smaller, younger kong, had of course had a field day mocking Monk's discomfort.

Incredibly, at the moment Monk didn't even care about Ham being one up on him.

In front of them, Carl Denham was sitting under another tree _growing out_ of the big branch they were all on. Sitting on each side of Denham were Doc Savage and the Black Panther. The tree Denham was sitting under, a forty foot tall tree in its own right, was growing out of a soil filled hole in the giant branch. Denham was drawing a map in the soil.

Sitting on the branch directly above them was King Kong himself. He watched closely as Denham drew his map. Sitting well above them on yet another branch was a huge white raven, the roc Denham had introduced as the Eye in the Sky.

Sitting all around them were other giant gorillas, and crawling around and on the giant gorillas were bull terrier sized red ants.

Monk had never felt so vulnerable and tiny in his life.

But that wasn't the most surreal part of this whole situation.

No, it wasn't even the fact that a big bird was acting as translator between human and kong, and spoke with an accent that echoed the Caribbean.

No, the most surreal part was the fact that Carl Denham and King Kong, the two beings responsible for the death of Crystal Evans, were talking to one another and making plans for war, and _everyone_ was listening to them. Even Doc. Even _Ham_!

Monk wasn't sure how much longer he could stand to just sit there. All things considered, even the cramped quarters of the Rumbler were preferable to participating in this war council.

* * *

"There are two airfields, one inside the wall _here_, and the other outside the wall and hidden under the forest canopy _here_."

So saying, Carl Denham drew a landing strip inside his map of New Prussia, and another one outside his map of New Prussia. Doc was impressed, but he wasn't surprised. Denham was by all accounts a gifted pilot, and his ability to accurately draw a (in this case quite literal) bird's eye map was to be expected.

"How do you know about the other airfield if it is hidden under the forest, Carl?"

This question came from Monk. There was an edge to the ape-like chemist's voice, which was far lower than it habitually was. Obviously, Monk was far from over the events in New York, and while Doc didn't blame him, the chemist's grief and justifiable anger threatened the unity they would need to defeat Dietz and New Prussia, especially since Doc was determined to win the war with as few casualties on all sides as possible.

"Good question," Denham said, flashing a guilty look at Monk. "I myself missed it, but the _Eye_ saw it once I told pointed out what to look for. His eyesight is much greater than ours."

"This is going to be a problem." This came from Ham. "This field (Ham pointed to the one Denham drew outside the New Prussian wall) is covered by trees, right?"

"Yeah," Denham responded. "The slav...New Prussians...cut the lower branches out of the trees, but they are so tall that they still form a canopy over the field and yet leave room for the planes to take off."

"So it's going to be hard for the rocs to bomb it without flying under the canopy, and that will make them vulnerable," Doc said.

"Yeah, that's about it," Denham responded. "Kong here was talking about using a joint force of kong and ants to attack the forest field simultaneously with the rocs' bombing run on the main airfield in the city."

"I have an additional idea," T'maru said. "Renny is a pilot, and so are you, correct?"

"Yeah," Denham said. "In fact, I think _all _of Doc's crew except Johnny are pilots."

"Yes," Doc said, his own thoughts mirroring the Black Panther's. "But you, Renny, and Long Tom are the only ones with _combat _experience. We'll need Long Tom at the controls of the Rumbler, but I think you and Renny should be able to take control of two of the New Prussian planes and significantly add to our air strength."

They waited while the Eye translated the latest discussion to Kong.

"**The King of the Kong agrees," **the Eye boomed. "**He suggests you come up with a way to label the flying aircraft your men commandeer so that we rocs, or he, do not mistake them for enemy craft."**

Doc looked at Renny and smiled. Renny scowled back, which was the big engineer's version of a smile.

"Right," the big engineer said. "That shouldn't be a problem."

* * *

The war council took no more than an hour. Ann was surprised, and in a way disappointed, with how quickly they wrapped it up.

Not because she was excited about the upcoming war, although she intended to do her part. Indeed, the upcoming war only elicited feelings of dread and horror.

No, she was disappointed because during the council she was hearing, for the first time, and albeit indirectly, the _voice_ of King Kong, her friend. And for the first time, she realized that she would be able to do what had once seemed unthinkable.

She could have a _conversation_ with King Kong!

Ann turned to ask Hilda if she could translate for her when Doc Savage, his metallic countenance looking uncharacteristically grim, spoke first.

"Hilda," Doc Savage said. "Would you come with me? I need you to facilitate a conversation between King Kong and one of my brothers."

* * *

_Many of the other kong were very excited to see the two bronze skinned little apes. Apparently, they resembled some of the little apes the northern families had partnered with for wet nurses. In fact, the bronze skins were the first little apes to be enslaved by the invaders. _

_Although Kong had heard of the little bronze apes who lived to the north before, and had even seen a few of them both during his boyhood visit to his uncle, and during the war with the little ape invaders, he failed to connect his recent companion with the bronze skinned little apes of his own world. _

_Kong assumed this was what the little bronze ape wanted to talk about now. Instead, however, he followed the little bronze ape and the dark skinned female to another branch on the tree, where another little ape waited. This little ape was curiously shaped. He, sort of, resembled a cross between the typical little tufted ape and a tiny deformed kong. He also looked vaguely familiar. Kong tried to place him, but failed. _

_The curiously shaped little ape glared up at him. He was clearly angry about something! _

* * *

"What is this about, Doc?" Monk demanded with uncharacteristic directness. Monk had climbed to this branch of the tree to be alone, and now he had been joined by Doc, the woman who had been with Carl Denham, and King Kong. The branch was not as large as the one they had been on, and the branch groaned slightly under the old silverback's weight.

"Let me guess," Monk said. "You are wanting to help me get past Crystal's death."

"Do you really think so little of me, Monk?" Doc replied. His question was like a splash of cold water to the chemist's face. "People matter. They have always mattered to us.

"I am here to give you the opportunity to tell Kong that."

Monk looked up at the giant gorilla, who was looking at him curiously.

Kong clearly didn't even remember.

The woman, who Denham had introduced as Hilda MacKenzie, was looking at him expectedly.

"Tell him that we have seen each other before," Monk said. "Tell him that we saw each other when he was chained up in the theater."

"Theater?" Hilda said. "What be a theater?"

"A...a gathering place," Monk clarified. "Tell him that we were at the gathering place when he was chained up. The place with the girl."

* * *

_"This one say he saw you at gathering place. You bound. There girl."_

_Girl. A little female ape, one at the...gathering place. __**Now**__ Kong remembered the curiously shaped little ape! __**He**__ was the one trying to free the little female ape, the one who had yellow hair but was not __**her**__._

_Kong, angry but still drug addled, had been barely aware of the curious little ape as he broke his right wrist free, and then...he reached out and took her._

_And after that?_

_He remembered the __**others**__ he picked up, and then put down carefully. Each time he picked up a little yellow haired ape, two thoughts crossed his mind. One, it wasn't __**her**__. Two, she was still__** somebody**__. But the first female, all he remembered thinking was..._

_...it wasn't __**her**__. After that, it was just one moment he was holding her, the next he was not. _

_The little apes were so fragile. This he knew from many years of experience, both in terms of protecting wet nurses, and later trying, and until the yellow haired female, failing, to protect the females the degenerate little apes offered to him from behind their wall. If he disposed of the first female in the gathering place without thinking..._

_...oh...oh, __**no**__!_

* * *

The change of expression in King Kong's face was immediate. Doc Savage immediately knew that Kong now understood the nature of the wrong that he had committed.

Kong started to sign emphatically to Monk. Hilda started to translate.

"He...he now remembers you. He remembers the girl, but he doesn't remember what he did after he picked her up."

"Well _**I**_ do!" Monk roared. "He tossed her aside like _garbage_, and she _**died**_!"

Hilda's cheeks were now wet as she translated Monk's words to Kong.

Kong, his facial expression now clearly stricken, signed back.

"He...he says if he survives the coming war, his life will be yours."

"What?" roared Monk. "What does he mean by that?"

"He means that he will let you kill him, if that be what you want," Hilda replied.

Monk blinked. He shook his head, just as Doc knew that he would.

"No, that's not..." Monk stammered. "Tell him that is the _last _damn thing that I want."

Hilda signed Monk's words to Kong. Kong's response was emphatic.

"He says that he took a life from you, and he can offer none back except his own," Hilda says. "And he will not do that until the war be won. His life be not his own while the slavers still threaten his people."

Monk snorted angrily.

"Tell him I'm done," Monk said. "Tell him I don't want to talk about this any more. Tell him that I don't want his damn life today, _or_ tomorrow.

"And tell him thanks for his time."

"I don't know how to sign that," Hilda replied as she signed to Kong. "The part about time."

"Tell him thank you for talking to me, then."

Hilda signed Monk's message. Kong signed back.

"He says that makes no sense."

"Well, I ain't interested in explainin' it to him," Monk growled.

Kong stared down at Monk for a full minute, then turned and climbed to another branch.

"Thank you, Hilda," Doc said.

Hilda looked back at the direction Kong went.

"They be not like us, Doctor Savage," Hilda said. "In truth, they always have shown _us_ far more consideration than we have ever shown _them_."

Doc nodded. In the time he had spent with him, he had seen plenty of evidence of Kong's sensitive and thoughtful nature. Indeed, that was why he had insisted on this meeting between Kong and Monk. Kong had committed a brief and uncharacteristically careless act, and that act had defined Kong in Monk's mind. Monk needed to see for himself this other, sensitive, Kong.

"I agree, I doubt that most human beings could show the sort of understanding the kong have shown us," Doc said. "But _he_ stillneeded to know."

He knew that Hilda thought he was referring to Kong, and so he was, in part.

But mostly, he was referring to Monk.

* * *

When she saw Kong again, Ann felt a thrill. Now, finally, she would be able to talk to her friend.

But then she saw Kong's face. Kong looked at Ann as if he couldn't stand the sight of her. The huge silverback hung on one of the immense vines connecting the gigantic trees, and then swung away. The female kong who Carl Denham had said was King Kong's daughter made eye contact with Ann. She then handed her tiny infant to the nearest of the red ants and followed her father.

Ann turned and looked at Jack Driscoll.

"Do you have any idea _what_ just happened?" she asked Jack.

Jack sighed.

"Yeah, I'm afraid I do," he replied. "I think Monk finally confronted Kong about Crystal Evans."

"Crystal Evans?" Ann asked. "Who is that?"

"Who _was_ she?" Jack replied. Ann didn't like the way he looked at her, or his tone of voice. It was as if he was offended that she didn't know who this Crystal Evans was. "She was the girl who took your spot in Denham's show."

Jack then proceeded to tell Ann the awful story about what happened between Kong and her unfortunate replacement, and about Monk's failed attempt to rescue her.

"Oh my _God_, Jack!" Ann exclaimed. "_Why_ didn't you say something about this to me _before_? Why didn't _anyone_ say _anything_ about this to me before?"

"I...I guess I thought that you _knew_," Jack replied. " I guess we _all_ thought that you already knew, and didn't want to bring it up again with you around.

"We all know how much you think of the big ape."

At that moment, Doc Savage and Monk appeared. They had climbed across the surface of the tree's huge trunk from the other side. So large was the tree that the bark provided handholds for climbers. The two men were barefoot, their boots tied together and draped across their neck and shoulders.

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened at the Alhambra?" Ann asked both Doc and Monk.

Then she turned to Monk and asked, "_What_ did you _say_ to him?"

"What needed to be said," Monk replied. "No more, no less."

Ann turned and looked at the direction Kong had gone. She had seen Kong kill human beings before, when the crew of the Venture tried to capture him. But he was fighting for his life and freedom at the time. She couldn't believe that the intelligent and gentle giant she knew could be capable of such carelessness.

"Miss Darrow."

Ann turned to look at Doc Savage.

"I'd like to borrow Mr. Driscoll," the bronze man said.

Ann looked at Jack. Jack seemed to have trouble looking back at her.

"Sure, why not?" Ann replied. "I think he'd rather go with you anyway."

With that, she turned and walked away.

* * *

Doc Savage brought Jack Driscoll to the relatively small white kong that Denham said was Kong's grandson. With the white kong was Denham's new girlfriend, Hilda. It always amazed Driscoll how Denham always landed on his feet. Denham had started this trip in total disgrace, both in his own eyes and the world's. From there, he had befriended an army of kong, including the very Kong he had captured and displayed! And to top that off, Denham now had a beautiful young girlfriend!

This was a record recovery even by Carl Denham standards.

Doc Savage climbed on the white kong's back.

"Hop aboard," Savage said.

"Where are you taking me?" Driscoll asked.

"King Kong wants to speak to you," Savage replied.

* * *

T'maru found Ann Darrow standing under the tree growing out of a tree that Carl Denham sat under earlier.

"Ann...." T'maru said.

"I really don't want to talk to anyone right now," Ann said. "No offense."

"No offense taken, but I feel that I have no choice in the matter," T'maru said. "Considering the conversation we had before."

"The conversation in Kong's nest?" Ann asked.

"Yes," T'maru replied. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with Mr. Driscoll."

Ann raised her head to glare at T'maru.

"I most sincerely apologize," T'maru continued. "I didn't mean to spy on your personal conversations, but I have, by training and certain medicinal treatments, exceptional hearing. And, Ann Darrow, I have come to regard you as a friend. And as a friend, I am very concerned that the story of Crystal Evans has resurrected old ghosts for you."

"What do you mean?" Ann asked. Her facial expression had softened from a glare to simply defensive, but her body posture was still tense. T'maru's predator's instinct told him that Ann might turn and run at a moment's notice.

T'maru sighed. He would have to choose his words carefully.

"Ann, we have become too good friends for you to be so evasive with me, don't you think?" T'maru asked. "You lashed out at Jack, and you are doubtlessly hurt by the fact that no one told you about what happened at the theater, but we both know those things are mere side issues. What's really bothering you is the thought that you should have been there."

Ann turned away.

That's _it_!" she yelled. "If _you_ aren't leaving, _I_ am!"

Ann started to walk away from the tree, towards the distant end of the gigantic branch. She got about five steps before she stopped, and simply stood immobile.

T'maru cautiously and silently walked to stand beside her. Tears were silently running down Ann's face, and her eyes were squeezed shut.

"I'm really tired of crying," she whispered.

"It is good that you still have tears to shed," T'maru replied.

"I should have known he would escape, and it was bad enough that people were killed who might not have been if I was there, but to find out that the _girl _who took my place was..." Ann shook her head angrily.

"Ann, it wasn't your fault," T'maru said.

"I should have known he'd escape," Ann said. "He was too strong, and too smart."

"Ann, you refused to take part in a spectacle you found repugnant," T'maru said. "Don't take something that is admirable about you and turn it into a source of guilt. There is guilt to be had about what happened in New York, but it is not yours. Let Carl Denham and King Kong and even Monk work through it."

"Monk?" Ann said. "What did he do?"

"He went to the repugnant spectacle," T'maru said. "And I don't know him well, but I know Doc, and Doc trusts him. The kind of man Doc trusts will be bothered by what Kong was put through, even if he won't admit to it."

Ann turned towards T'maru and smiled. It wasn't a big smile, but it was a change of expression T'maru welcomed nevertheless.

"How did you become so wise?" she asked.

"I am crown prince for the world's most technologically advanced country," T'maru said. "Wisdom is frankly expected."

* * *

At first, Driscoll was terrified. To have the scarred visage of Kong look at him was unnerving to say the least, since the great ape had attempted several times to wipe the writer off the face of the Earth, and off the face of Planet Terror before that.

"Mr. Driscoll," Doc said. "Hilda is here to translate between you."

Driscoll nodded to Denham's girlfriend. As terrified as he was, he couldn't wait to hear what the big ape had to say.

The first thing Kong did was apologize to Driscoll for trying to kill him.

Driscoll then heard the story of how the natives had offered their women to Kong (Driscoll's dislike for those particular natives only increased when he heard how they had dealt with the first poor girl Kong had tried to give back), and of the symbiotic relationship between the human nursemaids and the kong. While Ann had told Driscoll about the murder of Kong's family by the New Prussians, hearing the tale, even through a translator, from Kong's memory was simply horrifying. Driscoll was in awe of Kong's survival after that. Then, as Kong told the story of the first war between the kong and the New Prussians, Driscoll's awe became wonder. Wonder not only at how Kong survived, but at how any gentleness had persisted in him at all. Particularly towards any representative of the species that had wiped out his family, and (so he thought at the time) his people.

Driscoll, for his part, told Kong of his feelings for Ann Darrow. With regret, he also told Kong about some of the men he had killed, especially Joshua Hayes, even though most of those killings were arguably in self defense, and all of them were provoked.

The terrible irony was, the crew of the Venture and Kong were all trying to do the same thing:

Defend Ann Darrow.

After that, Jack Driscoll gave into his writer's instinct, and asked Kong question after question about the kong, about their history and customs. The writer within him first thought article, then epic biography, and finally just threw up his hands and surrendered.

Driscoll, who had gone into the conversation terrified, found himself very disappointed when it had to end.

"Kong says that he would be honored to call you friend, Jack Driscoll," said Hilda.

"Tell Kong that I will be honored to call him friend, and that I humbly accept his gracious offer," Jack said.

_Doesn't that sound like something a writer would say? _Driscoll thought wryly.

* * *

Standing beside Doc Savage and hidden under a tree growing on a branch just below the one Driscoll and Kong were sitting on, Monk listened, and understood. He doubted that he would ever excuse what happened to Crystal Evans, but he found he could now at least accept Kong as a brother-in-arms.

"OK, Doc, OK," Monk said. "I'm ready to rejoin the team."

"Good," Doc replied as he took the burly chemist's hand and shook it. "Because we need to get started. Dietz will be actively searching for us, and if we are going to have any chance at all, we are going to have to attack before he finds us."

"Ya think he's looking, Doc?"

"I know he is," Doc replied. "'By their works you shall know them.' I have seen New Prussia, and it is a monument first and foremost to the depraved paranoia of Adolf Dietz.

"He will be determined to seek out and destroy anyone he sees as a threat to his rule."

"And we _**are**_ a threat to him."

"Yes, Monk, we most certainly are. I have made it my new life's mission to bring New Prussia down."

**This was a tough chapter to write. I knew I wanted to deal with the ramifications of Crystal Evans' death. At first, I thought I would have Monk just save her, but that seemed cheap, somehow. And as I planned this chapter out, I realized that the effects of her death would go beyond just Kong, Monk, and Carl, and extend to other characters (especially Ann) as well. **

Next

Chapter 29

Attack of the Thunderbirds


	29. Chapter 29 Attack of the Thunderbirds!

Chapter 29

Attack of the Thunderbirds

Frank Gruber was the first to see the great white birds.

There were three of them, flying just over the several hundred foot high canopy of the Great Forest. From a distance up, they might not have looked as huge as they were, but Gruber's plane wasn't that high.

The birds appeared to be startled, and as they flapped their immense wings in a slow and majestic effort to increase their altitude, Gruber realized that something was wrong.

They looked like the birds they had seen up high over the airfield. So high that their great size wasn't apparent. There had been reports of huge white birds by the Great Western Cliffs, but the air currents there were just too deadly for pilots to try to get a closer look.

Gruber knew from experience that some of the Freyan animals were smarter than they appeared. The kong, the giant mimic ants, the huge Vastatosaurs, and the swift Loboraptors all were capable of outsmarting the unwary man. Underestimating the local wildlife could be fatal!

If the birds were flying so high above the air field, could it be they were hiding something?

Gruber maneuvered his plane over the three giant birds. He yelled into the ear of the observer in front of him, von Hozel.

"Send a wireless to Counselor Sitter!" Gruber said. "I don't like the looks of these birds."

Von Hozel started to tap out his message on the portable wireless as Gruber thought about shooting down the birds.

Gruber never saw the several hundred pound rock, dropped on him by fourth giant white bird two hundred feet above him, that ended all thoughts of shooting down giant birds. Von Hozel had the brief experience of being thrown upward by the force of the dropped stone as it broke the observation plane in two. But by the time his half of the plane started to fall into the canopy below, he had mercifully passed out.

...

Hermann Volkstadt nervously entered the Council Room. The room was dominated by a huge table made of native wood. The chairs, all carved from the same native wood, with comfortable looking seat cushions covered with soft duck bill leather, were attractive to a boy who spent most of his time sitting in a metal chair in front of a wireless. Kaiser Dietz had been slow to replace the wireless operators he had fired, which wasn't really a problem yet because complete wireless silence was still being enforced.

The only other person in the room was the one who had ushered him into the room, Counselor Sitter. Young Volkstadt feared Dietz, but he despised Sitter. Sitter was always trying to anticipate the Kaiser's most capricious whims, which meant that the man had little initiative of his own, but when he did show initiative, he tended to be even more cruel than the Kaiser himself.

Sitter was placing papers in front of each chair on the table. In front of the most plush chair at the head of the table, Sitter fussed over the papers, and then also made sure that there was a full carafe of ice water and a glass that was precisely positioned to the right of the chair, exactly where the Kaiser wanted it.

No one else got a glass.

After arranging the Council Room to what he assumed would be Kaiser Dietz's satisfaction, Sitter stood at attention by his own chair (at Dietz's right hand side, of course). Young Volkstadt had been standing at attention for the past 40 minutes. Sitter had not given him leave to be at ease, nor would he.

He would leave that decision to the Kaiser, and Volkstadt was certain that he would be remaining at attention until Dietz deigned to dismiss him.

Volkstadt stood at attention for 14 more minutes before Dietz entered the room, followed by his son, Adolf Dietz the Second; Karl Grossler, Kressler's replacement as Captain of the New Prussian Air Corps; Hermann Grimes, the Captain of Factories; Johann Dietz (no relation to the Kaiser), Captain of the New Prussian Navy; and finally Willie Gore, the Captain of Internal Security. Gore looked very nervous, which was hardly surprising. Volkstadt had heard about the unauthorized visit from a "Doctor Savage", even though he wasn't supposed to have. He had seen part of the message painted on the side of the Kaiser's tower before two illiterate thralls succeeded in sandblasting away the painted message.

None of the usual Lieutenants came in, which meant that this was a high level meeting indeed. Volkstadt became even more uneasy. When the Kaiser of New Prussia met with his Captains, it was to keep secrets, and those who heard secrets that Dietz didn't want them to know tended to disappear.

The Lieutenants and Counselor Sitter all stood at attention (as did Volkstadt himself) until Dietz sat down and nodded to them. Then the Council sat. Volkstadt himself remained at attention, just as he had for the past 55 minutes.

"At ease, young Volkstadt," Dietz said. "Now, if you will be so good as to tell myself and the Council what you told my Counselor."

"Yes, Excellency," Volkstadt said. "At 12:33 this morning, I received a wireless (at that, several of the Captains made startled exclamations, everyone knew of Dietz's ban on wireless traffic) from one of your observation planes, the one flown by Lieutenant Gruber. The wireless was interrupted, I think, but here is what I received."

So saying, Volkstadt removed the sheet of paper he had printed the message on from his shirt pocket, unfolded it, and read it aloud.

"'We are following three large white...' that was the entire wireless, Excellency," Volkstadt finished apologetically.

"Once again, well done, young Volkstadt," Dietz said. "You may return to your station."

"Thank you, Excellency," Volkstadt said, hoping he didn't sound too eager to get out of the room. He didn't like the way the son of the Kaiser was looking at him. He knew what became of Adolf Dietz the Second's so-called friends.

...

After young Hermann Volkstadt had left the room, Dietz looked at his Captains, letting his gaze linger especially long on Willie Gore. Dietz's Captain of Internal Security pulled nervously on his collar. Dietz had already punished the appropriate underlings, but he trusted the message had gotten through to Captain Gore. Gore's second failure would be his last.

Dietz took in a long breath. He had spent the last three hours thinking about what he knew, and what he knew was disturbing. Now he was about to outline the most important information to his Captains.

"Gentlemen, war is coming," Dietz said. "I expect New Prussia to be under attack, possibly as soon as today."

None of the Captains were surprised by this announcement. They had all spent the past two days making obvious preparations for an attack.

"Will the attack come from General Scar and this Doctor Savage?" this question came from Grimes, the Captain of Factories.

"Yes, but that is just the beginning," Dietz said. "General Scar and Doctor Savage have allies. In fact, I suspect that General Scar has allied himself with an American expedition."

At this, Dietz's Captains all rose to their feet emitting loud exclamations of shock. Only Sitter, who already knew that some of Doctor Savage's allies were William Hawkins' colleagues from the American's Think Tank during the World War, remained in his seat.

"But why would the Americans mount an expedition?" Johann Dietz, the Captain of the New Prussian Navy, asked. "If they know about Freya and Atlantis, surely they knew that the odds against their being able to return home were prohibitive."

_Kaiser_ Dietz scratched his chin and pretended to think. Only Sitter also knew of Dietz's suspicion that people had successfully made back and forth trips between Freya and Earth (such as Captain Jack Sparrow in the 18th Century, and the Challenger Expedition in the 19th Century). A suspicion that was confirmed in his interrogations of young Jimmy Hayes and the rest of Englehorn's surviving crew. This was not information, however, that he wanted his Captains to know, most especially his Captain of the Navy! They might start to get ideas about returning home. Already, Kaiser Dietz specifically had his ships and submarines avoiding those locations he thought the gateway between Earth and Freya were most likely to appear.

On Earth, Dietz was a genius, the leader of Germany's wartime think tank, and the commander of Earth's most advanced submarine. On Freya, however, he was _Kaiser_, and to go back to being less than Kaiser was simply unthinkable!

"A very good question, Captain Dietz," Dietz said after taking his moment to "think". "From my investigations, it is my belief that one on the expedition is an archeologist, and that this Doctor Savage also practices archeology as well. I believe they came here looking for Atlantis, without being aware that gates don't appear on Freya nearly as frequently as they appear on Earth."

After a brief pause, Dietz continued.

"The ship that brought the Americans here was commanded by Captain Josef Englehorn,"

Once again, there were expressions of surprise from around the Council Room. Dietz waited for them to die down.

"Yes, the same Englehorn who was originally designated to be your Captain," Dietz said. "It is my sad duty to inform you of the true reason why I assumed command of the U-170 submarine I designed. It was discovered that Captain Englehorn had possible divided loyalties."

Kaiser Dietz saw Captain Dietz scowl. He was not surprised. The other Dietz had served with Englehorn.

"I realize that this is difficult for you to believe," Kaiser Dietz continued. "But it is true. Englehorn was under suspicion, and now we can see that this suspicion was justified"

"But surely the war is over by _now_, Excellency," _Captain_ Dietz said. "Perhaps Germany and the Americans are now at peace, or perhaps even allies."

"Would an ally scrawl a hostile message on our very capital, Johann?" Kaiser Dietz asked. "That is hardly the act of someone who comes in peace. Furthermore, have you forgotten that this man has somehow allied himself with General Scar of the kong?"

"Yes, how did that happen?" asked Captain Gore with surprising boldness.  
"How did a man ally himself with a kong, particularly one who had no reason to trust a man from Earth?"

Dietz scowled. Gore looked cowed, but not as much as he should have. Dietz was starting to lose his grip. Not much, just a little, but he could see the questions arising on the faces of his Council.

That could not be tolerated. Dietz, as he always did, returned to his greatest weapon.

_**Fear**_. Fear of Freya. Fear of the monstrous creatures that lived beyond the protective wall.

"I don't know how these men came across, much less allied themselves with, General Scar," Dietz answered truthfully, because in this case the truth was what would be most unnerving to his council. "I don't know how these men have gotten mimic ants to relay their messages. I don't know what other beasts they have trained to use against us. And in the end, and perhaps most disturbing of all, if General Scar survived, _other kong_ may have survived as well."

The Council muttered nervously among themselves. Dietz's words were doing their work. Looks of fear replaced looks of incredulity on his Council's faces.

"What I do know is that these men helped General Scar bring down six of our airplanes, perhaps seven. I have every reason to suspect that these men, as allies with General Scar, are also responsible for the disappearance and probable death of my good friend, Colonel Hoffman. And, I know that this Doctor Savage had the audacity and skill to enter _my_ city, and write on _my_ wall, with at least one other companion."

The confirmation that Doctor Savage had at least one companion with him came from the unfortunate Johann Klaus, who had reported being overpowered by _two_ men. Klaus had now joined his friend Helmut Horst in the latest burial pit as object lessons for their Captain, Willie Gore.

"Here are some other things that we know," Kaiser Dietz continued. "Colonel Hoffman reported that he found the remains of a crashed airship of previously unknown design. None of Englehorn's surviving crew have admitted to knowledge of an airship, but we have no reason to assume that the appearance of this airship at about the same time Englehorn's ship delivered the Americans to our shores is a coincidence.

"We also know that the Americans have been listening in on our wireless messages, which is why I have ordered wireless silence. We also know that the Americans have been aware of our own efforts to triangulate on their position, and have shut down what appear to have been two mobile beacons."

Again, there was nervous muttering around the room.

"We are up against a very clever enemy, gentlemen," Dietz said. "We need to be prepared."

Every man sitting at the table nodded.

"Captain Grossler, report," Dietz said to his Captain of the Air Corps.

"Yes, Excellency. During the day, we have rotating patrols of four planes flying over the city, and another six planes flying searches for General Scar and his allies."

"I suspect that is five planes, now," Dietza said. "Proceed."

"Yes, Excellency," Grossler continued. "At night, we have two planes flying patrols over the city. The infra-red goggles and lights you have designed have worked well to assist our pilots in avoiding the bats and large flying insects."

Dietz nodded. Between himself and the thrall William "Heart" Hawkins, they developed the capability to fly the Freyan skies at night, which provided the New Prussians with an advantage that General Scar and his allies could not anticipate.

"By tonight, we will have two more light and goggle sets installed on our planes," Dietz said. "These planes are to fly inland and see if they can find Scar and his allies. The infra-red will allow the pilots to see kong in and among the trees."

"Excellency?" Grossler replied, clearly startled and uncomfortable with Dietz's plans. Flying at night in the interior of the Atlantean peninsula was extremely dangerous, with giant bats erratically chasing giant flying insects through the skies. Dietz knew that Grossler was loathe to risk any more pilots after Kressler's disastrous battle with Scar to the south.

"You heard me, Captain," Dietz said.

"Yes, Excellency."

Grossler knew better than to further question his Kaiser.

Dietz then turned to Willie Gore.

"Internal Security, report," Dietz said. Gore flinched slightly at Dietz's refusal to address him by name. Dietz' message to Gore had gotten through. _You can be replaced._

"Yes, Excellency. We have doubled our patrols throughout the city, and tripled our patrols in the tunnels. We have..."

At that moment, there was a loud thump that shook the building. Gore stopped speaking. Men looked back and forth at one another. Then there was another thump, and seconds later, two more. The last thump was the loudest, and shook the building so much that papers sitting on the table slid onto the floor.

Without a word, Dietz turned and walked to the door. Before he reached it, however, the door opened from the outside. Dietz saw it was one of his immense body guards shoving open the door. On the outside, standing beside the second body guard, his face white, was the young wireless operator, Volkstadt.

"Excellency," the first body guard, Kline, said apologetically. " Volkstadt says he urgently needs to speak to you."

"Speak," Dietz barked. The thumps continued, and the loudest thumps could now, in the hallway, be clearly distinguished as explosions!

"We got a wireless message from the hidden airbase, and also from the _Dietz _(New Prussia's flagship battleship-KR)," Volkstadt reported, his voice squeaking in adolescent excitement and fear. "They are both under attack. The airbase is being overrun by kong and mimic ants!"

"_Kong_?" Dietz echoed, putting aside his annoyance at Volkstadt for his failure to open his address with _Excellency_. "_**Plural**_?"

"Yes, Excellency," Volkstadt replied. "And the _Dietz_ is being attacked by giant white birds. The birds are dropping rocks on the ship, and she is badly damaged. Captain Franks himself sent the wireless asking for air support. He says that if the attack is not stopped, they will sink!"

Dietz shoved Volkstadt aside.

"Return to your stations!" Dietz yelled, both to the wireless operator and his Captains.  
"Immediately!"

Dietz, his two bodyguards jogging beside him, ran to his office. The Kaiser of New Prussia then danced around his desk and stood before his open picture window, looking to the northwest. What he saw turned his blood cold. Immense giant white birds were diving over the main airfield with incredible speed. Planes were in flames and lying broken on the tarmac, and the hangers were crushed in. One plane was in the air, but even as Dietz watched, a bird came up from behind the plane and ripped the top wing from the plane with its talons.

Clearly, Captain Franks of the _Dietz_ would not be getting his air support anytime soon.

...

**One of the two rocs known by the title Eye in the Sky flew high above the city of New Prussia with seven of his fellows. In each foot, each roc carried a stone that, even by Freyan standards, weighed at least one hundred pounds. **

**Rocs, like their tiny black cousins, ate a wide variety of foods, including carrion, fruit on Atlantis' gigantic trees, and 6 to 10 feet long fish (more rarely unwary dolphins) that carelessly spent too much time close to the surface. However, eating was a risky proposition for birds so large. Eating carrion, for example, put rocs on the ground where land dwelling carnivores such as land crocodiles, Venatosaurs, or Vastatosaurs could attack them. Eating fruit in trees made them relatively easy targets for Loboraptors. In the air, rocs were supremely agile and therefore formidable. On the ground or in the trees, however, take offs were awkward and, worse, extremely costly in terms of energy. Rocs consumed 90 plus percent of their caloric energy in take offs. Snatching prey off the surface of the ocean was less problematic, but the birds still had to consume a lot of energy to re-elevate themselves after skimming the ocean's surface. **

**As a result, there were very few fat rocs. Caloric intake barely exceeded the energy used to secure food. While feeding, rocs also moved in groups of at least eight for self protection. For example, while consuming carrion or fruit, for every two rocs on the ground or in the trees, four more patrolled the air above them, ready to drop stones or dive bomb any predator rash enough to attack their fellows on the ground. **

**High in the air, on the other hand, the rocs were supreme. They could effortlessly ride air currents to thousands of feet, indeed miles, high. Indeed, with their white coloring, rocs would fly high enough that they could mask their presence when seen from ground or sea level. They would be almost indistinguishable from far lower flying gulls and terns. **

**The rocs had been watching the New Prussians since they first arrived without ever having been noticed. **

**And they were very patient. **

...

Sitting in the room that was his guilded cage, Jimmy Hayes heard loud thumps that shook the building, followed by yells and screams in the hallways, and the pounding of feet running back and forth.

Jimmy's smile was wolfish. He knew the "mimic ants" (whatever they were) echoing Carl Denham's voice meant that _something_ was up! Dietz had tried to appear nonchalant during his last interview with Jimmy, tried hard enough that the street smart kid from Baltimore and New York knew that it was a performance.

Doc Savage, and probably T'maru, had cooked up something. His opportunity to take revenge for Captain Englehorn, poor Harker, and the crewmen who had been strafed in their lifeboat, was fast approaching. Jimmy could feel it!

...

Henry Bell stood at his station on the Great Wall, and watched in horror as an invasion unfolded before his very eyes. First, about ten red columns started to come out of the distant forest onto the minefield. The columns moved slowly, and when Bell looked through his binoculars, he could see why. They were columns of mimic ants, thousands of them! In front of the columns, dirt was being kicked up, obviously by bullets. Greater amounts of dirt were being thrown up by immense stones that sailed out over the ant columns to land in the dirt in front of them. As Bell watched, there were flashes of light, followed seconds later by loud booms.

_They were setting off the mines!_

As the mines exploded in front of them, the red columns of mimic ants moved forward, further onto the minefield.

One of the two bronze skinned boys assigned to him in the New Prussian Guard gasped. Bell turned to look at the boy. The boy was removing the binoculars from his wide and terrified eyes. Wordlessly, with his free hand he pointed out to the forest. Bell turned and focused his binoculars on the distant forest, from where the bullets were being fired and the large rocks were being hurled.

The glimpses were fleeting, but they were unmistakable. The last time Bell had seen them, he was a thrall, watching in terror as roaring beasts were trying to push themselves through gaps in first Great Wall.

He was looking at kong moving among the trees on the other side of the minefield.

Lots of them.

There was a large crash, and the huge and thick wall shook. Bell turned to see an immense white bird swoop by overhead, so fast he couldn't make out any of the bird's features. The machine gun and cannon tower was a shattered ruin. A large chunk of basalt teetered on the outer edge of the tower, before falling into the minefield. When the rock hit the ground below, another mine blew. When Bell turned and looked out across the minefield, he saw that three of the ant columns were now almost halfway across the minefield!

And from the forest, _kong_ began to emerge and walk across the living bridges composed of thousands of mimic ants!

Bell tasted the sour tang of fear in the back of his mouth, but he picked up his own machine gun.

"Lock and load, boys!" he cried.

It was only then that Bell noticed that he was now alone at his station on the wall. His boys had deserted him.

...

Dietz trembled with rage. It was all slipping away.

The city airfield was gone, and now the gigantic birds (the rocs of Sinbad legend?) had returned and were dropping rocks on the armory and factories. Dietz noticed that the birds avoided dropping rocks on the residential areas and the thrall quarters.

Clearly, someone had somehow told the birds what to hit, and what to spare!

Smoke and flames erupted from the bombed areas of the city. People were running around and screaming, including his soldiers and security troops. As he had watched from his window, two of his security men had been overwhelmed by thralls, who now tasted freedom.

In the span of an hour, the city had been lost. Dietz swore it would only be a battle that was lost, not a war. There were tunnels under the city, the existence of which was known to very few New Prussians. Down there, he would organize his resistance.

Dietz turned to his son. The boy was angry and confused, but he clearly did not yet understand the actual gravity of their situation.

"Go get young Mr. Hayes," Dietz said. "I want to talk to him."

Hayes and the crew of the Venture had somehow held out on him. They would pay dearly for that.

"And, boy, don't be gentle in bringing him to me," Dietz continued. "My only requirements are that he be alive and able to talk when I see him."

Adolf Dietz II grinned happily. Such was the depth of his friendship.

As the boy left the father's office, Dietz turned back to the window. Now, there was a new sound, one that chilled even Dietz's blood. It was the sound he had heard before.

Stones were once again striking the Great Wall! The sounds of impact were frequent enough to tell Dietz that there were dozens, if not _hundreds_, of kong and their slings!

Clearly, he couldn't afford to spend much time on the final interview with Jimmy Hayes. Dietz needed to get to William "Heart" Hawkins before New Prussia was overrun by the kong and their allies. The man was too valuable a resource to leave behind.

Thus, when it came to Jimmy Hayes, it was time to talk quickly, then liquidate and move on.

Suddenly, from behind him, Dietz heard an incredulous gasp from one of his massive body guards, and as he started to turn, he heard the sound of flesh striking flesh, of tearing fabric, and of pained grunts and falling bodies.

By the time Dietz had completed his turn to see what was happening behind him, his two body guards were down and bleeding on his carpeted floor. Standing between their unconscious bodies was a man whose skin color and features identified him as part Atlantean. The man was smaller and more compactly muscled than Dietz's guards, but the difference was relative. On Earth, the intruder still would have been considered a giant. He wore a white shirt (which evidently had been torn during the brief scuffle), brown khaki pants, black boots, and a thick belt. The thick black belt was covered with a large variety of pouches.

So, this was Doctor Savage!

"Admiral Dietz," Doctor Savage said. Dietz felt his face redden at the intruder's refusal to address him as _Kaiser_ Dietz. "I have come to compel you to let my people go."

Chapter 30

King Kong Attacks!


	30. Chapter 30 King Kong Attacks!

**The last chapter told the story of the attack on New Prussia from primarily the New Prussian viewpoint. Now, in this chapter, we see the attack unfold through the eyes of the "good guys."**

Chapter 30

King Kong Attacks!

_The word came from the rocs early in the morning. The scout aircraft over the forest had all been taken down. _

_**"Shall we begin?" **__The female roc known as the Eye in the Sky (Kong had learned there were two rocs with that name, a mated pair)._

_"Not yet," Kong said. "Wait until I have conferred with our little ape allies." _

_With that, Kong climbed down the massive tree. His kong army began to speak excitedly among each other. Kong was worried, indeed terrified, for his people. The most critical chapter of the attack on the slaver colony was about to begin. _

_Kong reached the ground and walked over to the land craft. Before he could tap on the craft with one of his massive knuckles, the little bronze male and the little dark skinned male emerged from the craft. So did the dark skinned female who could translate his gestures into the sound segmenting language the little apes used. _

_"Aircraft over forest down," Kong signed. "Operators notified colony?"_

_As Kong had suspected and the little bronze skinned ape had confirmed, the little apes had a signaling system that the kong could not detect, but could be sent between devices. Fortunately, within the land craft there was a device that could listen in on the slavers' signals. _

_The female spoke to the bronze and dark skinned males. The bronze skinned male shook his head and spoke briefly. _

_"No," the little dark skinned female signed back. "One aircraft got out part of signal, but nothing about rocs."_

_Perfect. The slaver apes still had no idea that they would be going against rocs. _

_The primarily infrasonic tonal language of the kong carried long distances, so that Kong didn't need to climb back up the tree to relay the news to the female Eye in the Sky. _

_"Begin the attack," King Kong ordered._

* * *

"There!" Renny whispered as he handed the binoculars to Carl Denham. "Do you see them?"

Denham took the binoculars and looked. Renny had been looking at sections of immense tree trunks approximately 2,000 feet away. Denham looked at the same sections, which were illuminated by sunlight coming through breaks in the canopy. As far as the erstwhile movie director could tell, the trunks were featureless.

"Sorry," he whispered back. "All I see are tree trunks."

"That's what you're meant to see, but look closer," the big engineer said. "Look for _shadows_."

Denham looked again. This time he saw them. High along the trunks that were exposed to the dappled sunlight. there were shadows shaped like inverted right triangles.

"Machine gun nests?" Denham asked.

"That would be my guess," Renny answered. "Looks like Dietz's boys built the nests and glued bark on them."

Denham turned to look down and to his left. Perched on a branch underneath him sat Kiko.

"Did you hear that?" Denham asked the young white haired grandson of King Kong. "There are hiding places for men with guns along the trees."

Kiko nodded and started making hand gestures to the two immense silverbacks sitting in branches underneath them. The biggest of the two, the one whose name Hilda said translated as "Tumbler," made hand gestures back. When Tumbler finished his reply, Kiko turned back to face the two men. The young kong couldn't speak human words, and Denham was still for the most part unfamiliar with the gestural language used between kong and human, but both men understood what Kiko's upraised thumb meant.

Denham then felt it. A silent vibration running through his very bones.

"Carl, _look_!" Renny hissed.

Denham again looked towards the trunks where the machine gun nests had been detected. Now there were red lines running up the trees. Denham brought up the binoculars, but he already knew what he would see. Lines of hundreds of three foot long red ants were running up the tree trunks. As Denham watched, some of the ants exploded into red body parts and yellowish goo. He heard the distant chatter of machine gun fire. Denham handed the binoculars back to Renny. Now, even without the binoculars, he could see occasional muzzle flashes along the sides of the trees, and human heads and shoulders poking out of the otherwise invisible nests in the trees.

Denham looked down at Tumbler and the other big silverback whose name translated as "The Magnificent." They were both removing their slings, which had been draped around their shoulders, and loading them with stones that were carried in a pouch made from more tightly woven smaller vines, which in turn were connected to vine belts which had been fastened along the silverbacks' waists. Tumber loaded his slingshot first, and although he looked awkward while he whirled his sling, his shot flew straight. Denham heard the very short scream that came from one of the nests after he saw the impact of the stone that had flattened it.

The Magnificent's aim wasn't nearly as good as Tumbler's, but the slightly smaller silverback's barrage seemed to cause a panic that had the machine gunners firing into all directions. Once, bullets sliced through the branches overhead, causing leaves to fall on Denham, Renny, and the kong below them. However, every machine gunner who revealed himself was soon flattened by a stone from Tumbler's sling. Soon enough, the machine guns fell silent. Here and there, Denham could see the tiny outlines of men climbing out of their nests and upwards, desperate to evade the swiftly climbing red armies of sharp jawed insects coming up from below. The men were climbing far slower than the lines of red ants who pursued them. Denham didn't ask for the binoculars back. He didn't particularly want to see the surviving machine gunners' final fates.

Then, from below, Denham heard the sounds of airplane engines starting.

"Uh oh," Denham said.

* * *

Renny soon found himself in The Magnificent's left hand. Denham, he knew, was riding the back of the young white kong Kiko. He heard Tumbler roar, and then the sound of stones from his sling striking new targets. The big civic engineer heard the explosions of airplanes, and also the sounds of large stones striking the hangar he couldn't yet see as he was rushed through a dizzying sea of green and brown.

Renny, as an experienced fighter pilot (among other things) was not as susceptible to motion sickness as most men. Even so, he found himself shutting his eyes tightly as The Magnificent hurtled through the forest.

Even with his eyes closed, Renny knew that The Magnificent was climbing rapidly downwards. Thus, when movement suddenly stopped and he found himself gently being put down, Renny was not surprised when he opened his eyes to find himself standing on the ground.

What he saw was nothing short of astonishing. The shattered and burning ruins of planes, and the crushed and burned bodies of pilots, were scattered along an improvised dirt landing strip. The hangar was revealed as a hollowed out fallen tree that was so big that several planes could have fit into it. At least, before several dozen sling hurled boulders had caved the thing in. Sitting in the runway were two intact planes, surrounded on three sides by sling hurled boulders embedded in the dirt. Tumbler's work, no doubt, to secure the planes for Denham and himself, and to keep other potential pilots away. Here and there were the scattered sounds of gun fire and the screams of terrified men. Kong silverbacks and black blacks, and even a couple of adult females who were evidently either yet to bear children, or were between children, were running through the ruins of the hidden airfield. Once in a while, one of the great apes would swing an arm as if they were swatting a bug, and there would be a short scream ended by a final thud. Once, Renny would have sworn he heard a liquid noise with the thud. At the thought of who and what the kong were swatting, Renny's breakfast tried to claw it's way back up into his throat, but the big engineer forced it back down into his stomach. There was no time for that.

Renny took out a small can of aerosol and paint clamped to his belt. It was an experimental prototype created by Monk Mayfair to ruin some of Ham Brook's favorite suits, but Doc had put it to good use in New Prussia the night before last.

"C'mon, Carl," he said. "Let's go decorate our planes so that the rocs don't drop rocks on us when we fly out."

* * *

"Good God," pretty Ann Darrow whispered to herself. She stood next to her friend, Kong Kong, and watched as smoke rose from behind the New Prussian wall. Over the wall and behind it, giant white birds continued to glide by so swiftly that they were blurs as they dropped their lethal stone cargo on the city and the wall. All along the top of the huge New Prussian wall were cracks and the remains of the stones the giant ravens had dropped on it. The damage was particularly concentrated on the remains of what Ann was sure used to be guard towers built up on the wall.

Kong Kong and the other kong were busy. They were using their slings to throw stones onto the minefield. Occasionally, in fact quite often, there were explosions. The ants would then run straight lines from one blown out crater to the next. Occasionally, one of the ants would set off a mine, but usually, the lines between the mines appeared to be clear. Kong and his companions had started throwing their stones on the near side of the field, and now went farther and farther. As Ann watched in astonishment, the ants who were close by would turn towards each other and grab each other's jaws in their own. For a brief second or two, Ann wondered if something was making the ants fight their own sisters, but then she realized what they were doing.

They were forming living pathways between the blown mine craters, allowing their sisters and the kong to start moving towards the wall!

Standing next to Ann was Hilda MacKenzie. Hilda touched Ann's shoulder gently as she watched the ant army slowly follow blown mine craters towards the New Prussian wall. Ann turned to Hilda, whose eyes in turn were looking up towards King Kong. Ann turned to see Kong gesturing in their direction.

"Kong asks if you be ready to accompany him," Hilda said. "He adds that there be no shame in it if you wish to remain here."

Ann tightened her grip on the shaft of the sonic spear in her right hand.

"No," Ann said. "I _said_ I would help, and I _will_."

Hilda sighed, a trifle sadly, Ann thought. As Kong took her gently in his right hand and put her on his back, she heard Hilda say, "May the fates bless thee and keep thee, Ann Darrow. As for me, I think I shall be remaining here."

Ann wasn't able to reply. She was too busy holding onto the hair on Kong's back as the silverback started to walk on the giant living path the ants had built for him. Ann figured they traveled for several miles before Kong stopped, and gently deposited her on the backs of the ants underneath her feet. Ann simultaneously felt terrified to be standing on the backs of giant, sharp jawed insects, and sorry that she was standing on them, even though she understood that, in comparison to Kong, her weight was nothing to them.

More unnerving still was how the ants behind them broke up their mutual clutches and, to the left and right of Kong and Ann, ran on the backs of their sisters to build the pathway ahead of them.

Kong took a stone out of the vine pouch on his vine belt with his left hand, while taking the vine sling off of his neck and shoulders with his right hand. Kong whirled the sling and hurled a stone at the huge wall that loomed before them, surely at least more than a 1,000 feet distant. Ann levered a pellet into her sonic spear, aimed her spear at the crack in the wall where Kong's stone had struck, and blew with all of her might.

The blow struck by the sonic spear caused even more damage than Kong's hurled stone! Chunks of wall were blown out by the impact of the steel and vibranium pellet. As the sound from the pellet's impact faded, Kong had already launched a second stone from his sling. His aim was perfect, as his second stone struck the section of wall that they had already damaged. Four more slung boulders from Kong, followed each time by another shot from Ann's sonic spear, blew a hole clear through the New Prussian wall!

Ann scarcely had time to be both awed and horrified by what she and Kong had done before the great ape picked her up and put her on his back again. By this time, there were already red lines of ants marching up the New Prussian Wall.

In a matter of minutes, Kong was climbing through the hole in the wall that he and Ann Darrow had made.

And so, Kong led his army into New Prussia.

* * *

T'maru, once again clad in the ceremonial Black Panther garb he had worn the last time he had ventured into New Prussia, shifted his body in the curled foot of the roc who held him, earning a deep squawk of protest from the huge bird. T'maru stopped moving. He knew from basic physics that the birds could not be as massive as they looked to fly the way they did, even though they were every bit as strong as they appeared. The shifting of weight by a grown man could interfere with the precision flying of the roc, and T'maru knew instantly that this was what had elicited protest from the giant bird.

The Black Panther watched as New Prussia became larger upon the approach of his avian ride. He knew that just behind them was another roc, this one carrying Doc Savage. The black skyscraper that Doc had written on during their previous trip stood out, and it was to there that the birds were flying. As the roc flew over the city in her approach to the black building, T'maru heard gunshots, but they were sporadic. The bombing runs of the rocs had already done their damage, and from the roars he was now hearing, T'maru could tell that the kong army had breached the wall and was now in the city itself. Suddenly, the flapping of immense wings and the sudden slowing of their progress told T'maru that they were over the building. The roof was about 20 feet below. Much to the bird's surprise, T'maru suddenly squirmed free and dropped the final 20 feet to the roof. There was no need for the bird to land on the roof herself, only to have to expend the energy to take off. Sure enough, the bird now flapped her wings more vigorously to increase her altitude. Doc's roc, meanwhile, took her place, and the bronze man duplicated T'maru's cat-like drop to the roof.

Doc and T'maru swiftly made their way to the rooftop door. It was made of thick steel and iron, and looked to be in very good repair, which was unsurprising given Adolf Dietz's reputation. Doc looked back at his blood brother, knowing that the Black Panther's hearing was even more keen than his own.

T'maru put his ear to the door and listened carefully for a few seconds.

"There is no one behind the door, which doesn't leave out the possibility that it is booby trapped," T'maru said.

Doc nodded and took a tiny amount of grey plastique and attached it to the metal door. Connected to the plastique was a small radio receiver. T'maru and Doc Savage then moved around the corner from the door and Doc pushed down the button of the transmitter on his belt. After the short, staccato bang that announced the detonation of the plastique, T'maru immediately moved back to the front of the door, which was still partially on its hinges. T'maru kicked the door in, and the door came off of its hinges and clanged down the stairs.

T'maru, with Doc on his heels, ran down the stairs, vaulted over the shattered door laying at the landing, and slammed his shoulder into the door on the landing. The door slammed open, and T'maru and Doc found themselves standing in a hallway. Two men, one on each side, rushed towards them. The two men were big, at least as tall as Doc, but the Black Panther sprang like his namesake and easily knocked his opponent unconscious. T'maru had no doubt that Doc Savage was taking down his own opponent just as easily.

"T'maru," Doc whispered, standing over the unconscious body of the guard he defeated. Doc pointed down the hallway through which his guard had come from, then pointed down the hallway that T'maru's guard had come from. T'maru nodded his instant understanding. The two men would split up to find the self proclaimed Kaiser Dietz and convince him to end this war with minimal additional bloodshed.

T'maru turned down his hall and looked into the rooms that he passed. The rooms were all empty, and the floor seemed to be mostly unfinished. By the time T'maru had made his way around his half of the top floor, he met Doc, and the two men returned to the stairwell and made their way to the next floor down. Once again, Doc and T'maru split up. This time, they were on a floor that was clearly occupied. Even as T'maru made his way around his half of the floor, he heard the sounds of struggle and knew at the very least that additional guards were experiencing the misfortune of encountering Doc Savage.

At that moment, T'maru heard a groan coming from a room with an open door. T'maru carefully made his way into the room, which was a luxurious apartment. He made his way through the living room, looking into the bathroom (indoor plumbing and all), and finally the bedroom. In the bedroom, there was an open door, and halfway in the opened door there was the prone body of the largest bronze skinned New Prussian he had seen yet. The owner of the body was dressed in a military style uniform. The giant's long, dark bronze hair was tinged with a brighter red that was clearly blood. T'maru stepped around so that he could see into the room. It was another bedroom, although the door to this bedroom was clearly designed to be locked from the _outside_. The condition of a night table in the second room told the story. One of the legs had been wrenched off. Clearly, it had been used to club the giant about the head. As T'maru watched, the giant shifted to raise one hand to his head, and the other to his knees, which told the Black Panther how his assailant, undoubtedly a much smaller man, had gotten the giant's head within reach of his improvised club.

He'd taken out the knees first.

T'maru then heard steps in the carpeted hallway outside the apartment. T'maru carefully backed out of the bedroom and looked into the apartment.

Standing in the doorway to the apartment was young Jimmy Hayes, his improvised bloodstained club in his right hand.

"I _meant_ to kill him," Jimmy said. "I _wanted_ to, but I couldn't. As horrible as he is, he's still just a kid."

"Who is he?" T'maru asked, turning back to look into the bedroom. The giant was still on the floor, holding his head, and his knees, and moaning.

"Dietz's son," Jimmy answered. "A big and really strong guy, but _he_ didn't grow up in Baltimore and the East Side of New York!"

Next

Chapter 31

War

**Notes: Edward Seymour actually invented spray paint in 1949, the same year Doc Savage Magazine ceased publication. However, spray paint sounds like something that Monk would invent as a way to get under Ham's skin, and in this story, I have made it so. **

**And now you know how Doc got into Dietz's building!**


	31. Chapter 31 War

Chapter 31

War

The varied and loud sounds of commotion told Jimmy Hayes that, one way or the other, his time had come. The next time the door to his gilded cage opened, it would be either opportunity or death.

The room was isolated enough that the noises he heard were muffled, but Jimmy could pick out several sounds. Men running up and down the hallway, some of them yelling. Explosions. And most recently, the roars of King Kong. Maybe even _several other _kong. Jimmy knew that Doc Savage and his men, and the Black Panther, were making their move, and that at least Carl Denham and King Kong were with them. Dietz was an evil and brilliant man, with an army behind him, but Jimmy knew better than to bet against people like the Man of Bronze, the Black Panther of the Wakanda, King Kong a.k.a. _General _Scar, and even Carl Denham. Kaiser Dietz was having a very bad day. Of this, Jimmy Hayes was certain.

Jimmy went to the night stand. It had been bolted down, but every night he pushed and pulled on it until he had worked one leg loose from the floor. Now, without ceremony, he simply kicked the table leg to knock it loose. He then finished the job by wrenching the leg away from its attachment. Two nails came off with it.

Less than a minute after Jimmy secured his improvised club, he heard a key go into the lock of his door.

With things going badly, Jimmy knew better than to assume that Junior was coming for just another visit. Kaiser Dietz had either decided that Jimmy had held out on him (and he had, but probably not nearly as much as the tyrant thought), or that he was no longer worth keeping around. Either way, Junior would consider this change of circumstance a license to torture or murder. Or, more accurately, torture, _then_ murder.

Sure enough, when Junior opened the door, the huge youth's plump childish face was twisted in an expression of joyous fury.

"Get up, rat!" he yelled. Then, he noticed the ruined inn table. "What have you..."

Jimmy lunged forward, determined to seize the initiative. As he did so, he realized that Kaiser Dietz had made a critical mistake.

_There were no bodyguards with Junior!_

Almost certainly, the elder Dietz had assumed that his son's huge size and freakish strength would allow him to control the erstwhile Venture crewman. And indeed, if Junior ever got a good grip on him, there would be no fight, only a horrible mauling, and death, for Mr. Jimmy Hayes.

But, even as Junior's right hand reached towards him, and faster than he would have liked, Jimmy's improvised club struck the giant boy's hand with a nasty crack. Even as Junior howled. Jimmy ducked down and swung his club, nail end out, at the giant's knee.

When the club made contact, Junior fell to one knee with a whimper. As Junior's struggled to stand with his injured right knee, Jimmy struck the left knee with even more force. Junior fell to the floor. Jimmy could tell Junior was trying to scream, but the blows to his knees had hurt so much that his throat had gone tight.

It was a feeling that Jimmy remembered well.

Jimmy reversed his club and struck Junior on the head. Once. Twice. Three times. Junior collapsed face first and stopped moving.

Jimmy knew that the end with the nails sticking out would have been more effective, and more permanent, and in fact he had fully intended to kill the giant psychopath when he had the opportunity.

But although Jimmy had had a hard life, and had done many rough things in that life, he had never actually killed someone before. The idea of slamming nails into someone else's skull was, in the end, too disturbing for him to seriously contemplate.

At least, not when that someone else was still a 15 year old kid. If it had been Junior's father or Counselor Sitter lying on the floor in front of him, Jimmy suspected that he might have found it easier to overcome his aversion to killing.

Jimmy picked up Junior's keys from the floor. He considered dragging Junior into his former room and locking him in, but Jimmy suspected that he didn't have the time. So instead, carrying his club, he walked through Junior's apartment and into the hallway.

Knowing that Kaiser Dietz's office and conference room were to his left, Jimmy turned right (he was no fool). As he turned the corner, Jimmy found himself confronted with a row of windows. Unable to resist, he looked out.

What he saw was a scene from a nightmare.

There were fires and ruined buildings everywhere. Huge white blurs swooped through the air overhead, and Jimmy soon realized that he was seeing giant birds literally diving bombing the city of New Prussia with boulders. But what drew Jimmy's attention were two giant silverback gorillas, neither of them King Kong! One of the silverbacks was in a bad way. Some of Dietz's soldiers were standing on one of the intact rooftops riddling the kong with bullets. Just as the one silverback collapsed, however, the other ran over, jumped on the building's roof, and swept the soldiers and their guns off the roof and down to the pavement forty feet or so below. Unfortunately, it was apparent that he was too late to save his fellow kong. The surviving silverback went over to his dead comrade and, with a gentleness that was touching, gently closed his eyes.

So, there _were_ other kong.

Jimmy turned and quickly walked back towards Junior's apartment. He wasn't sure what he was going to do next, but it sure looked dangerous outside. And Jimmy had no reason to assume that the invading kong would see him as anything but another armed human threat.

However, as Jimmy rounded the corner and looked into Junior's apartment, he was stunned to see a familiar and memorable figure.

T'maru, clad in the ceremonial mask and outfit of the Black Panther!

T'maru was looking at him. The mask, which completely covered his face, hid the Wakandan prince's expression. However, when T'maru looked down at Jimmy's bloodstained club, the young man could imagine the unspoken accusation in the Black Panther's gaze. Jimmy felt compelled to give a truthful explanation.

"I _meant_ to kill him," Jimmy said. "I _wanted_ to, but I couldn't. As horrible as he is, he's still just a kid."

* * *

So, this was Adolf Dietz. He didn't look like much, but Doc had long ago learned to look beyond appearances. The self proclaimed Kaiser of New Prussia appeared to be surprisingly calm.

"I congratulate General Scar on his latest effort," Dietz said in English. "I assume you had something to do with this as well?"

"Not much," Doc replied in German. "General Scar had already developed his plan of attack by the time we met up with him. We simply assisted him with some details."

Dietz's mask of calm slipped, just a little.

"How does it feel to have betrayed your own species?" the self proclaimed Kaiser hissed. "To help _animals_ to destroy men?"

"On your own, you have done far more damage to our species than all the kong in history," Doc replied calmly. "I saw your burial pits, and your thralls. You have destroyed several human cultures here, cultures that had successfully co-existed and even thrived with the kong.

"_You_ are the traitor to our species, Admiral Dietz, not I."

If Dietz had a reply, Doc was fated never to hear it. Mere seconds after Doc finished speaking, a section of wall in Dietz's office slid aside, and three more guards ran into the room, pistols in hand. Doc immediately snatched an anesthetic grenade from his belt and threw it into Dietz's office, even as he stepped back out of the room and out of the doorway. Doc continued to back away until he was out of the grenade's range. Then, after waiting the appropriate amount of time, less than half a minute, he stepped back into the office. The three guards were all unconscious on the floor, but there was no sign of Adolf Dietz, and the hidden panel had reclosed.

* * *

Left alone on top of the wall, Henry Bell chose discretion as the better part of valor, and followed his "boys" down the stairwell. Bell was no fool. Most of the other defenders on the wall had already been crushed under pumice and granite. His position on the wall, alone, was hopeless.

The entire wall shook under every blow from the stones the giant birds dropped on it. When Bell was five flights down, the concrete ceiling at the top of the stairs caved in. The lights in the stairwell went out, and at least one heavy chunk of concrete narrowly missed his head before slamming into the floor of the stairwell. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Bell stumbled over chunks of concrete on his way to the exit. As he reached the door, the entire wall shuddered under an enormous impact. Bell shoved the heavy metal door open with his shoulder, and as he ran into the city, he heard several more impacts in rapid succession. Finally, about 100 yards to his left, something blew through the wall entirely, leaving a 30 foot hole in the wall that protected New Prussia from the beasts of Freya. As Bell watched in disbelief, _General Scar_ himself climbed through that hole (and was that a _woman_ on his back?)!

The nightmare of every citizen of New Prussia had come true. The unthinkable had happened. The Great Wall had been breached, and General Scar was now_ in_ New Prussia! And then, the nightmare got even worse! An army of mimic ants followed General Scar out of the hole in tight lines, and began to scurry through the city faster than any man could run!

With a hoarse scream, Bell turned and ran. There was no longer any thought of locking and loading, of trying to hold the line. There were only thoughts of survival.

And now, unseen by the fleeing Henry Bell, other silverbacks emerged through the hole.

* * *

"Something's wrong," Ashford said.

Even through he was scared half to death, Nate Reynolds smiled at the man's talent for understatement. Outside, they could hear explosions, screams, gunshots, and the roars of giant gorillas. More than one.

Apparently King Kong wasn't the last of his kind after all.

Henderson had seemed to rally a bit, since no one had come to work them, but he was still in bad shape. The room they were all locked in, which was isolated from the other thrall quarters, stank, because no one had let them out. They'd had no food for over a day, but they had a sink that still worked, even with all the commotion outside, so they had water. Watching the other thralls from a distance, Reynolds suspected that most of the thralls had no running water.

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. A voice yelled out in German.

Reynolds turned and looked at von Kroenigswald. Despite the name, the young man, the youngest on the ship other than Jimmy Hayes, had been born somewhere in Iowa, or was it Nebraska? He spoke German, but unlike the late, and frankly unlamented, Nils Helstrom, he had never revealed his talent for speaking the language of his parents.

"What is he saying?" Reynolds whispered.

"He is asking if anyone is in here," von Kroenigswald answered. "What should I do?"

A particularly loud explosion, which resulted in startled yells both within and outside of their quarters, decided the question.

The voice outside yelled again in German.

"He says to step away from the door," von Kroenigswald whispered.

"No need to whisper now, Mr. V," Reynolds said. "He heard us."

The next moment, there was a pounding on the door. Once, twice, three times. The fourth time, the lock on the door broke loose and the door swung inwards.

A large, bronze skinned man and a smaller, Spanish looking man, stood in the doorway and looked warily in on them. Both wore thrall collars of their own, and neither wore shirts. On their chests, arms, and shoulders, there were scars from multiple whip strikes. Some of them looked fresh, barely healed. The big bronze man, almost as tall as Doc Savage himself, held a sledge hammer in his hands.

The bronze skinned man spoke again after looking Reynolds and his companions over. Reynolds suspected that the fact that they all had their _own_ thrall collars weighed heavily in their favor.

"What did he say now?" Ashford asked.

"He said run," von Kroenigswald replied. "He said it isn't safe here."

After speaking his message, the bronze skinned man, with his companion, took his own advice, and ran off.

"Ashford," Reynolds said. "Help me with Henderson. I think we need to leave."

"And go where?" Ashford asked.

"I have no bloody idea," Reynolds replied.

* * *

As he fled through the streets of New Prussia, avoiding rampaging kong and ravenous hordes of giant red ants, not to mention boulders being dropped by giant white birds, Henry Bell came up with a plan.

Underneath this city and the minefield, Adolf Dietz had built a network of tunnels. As a thrall, he had helped to build them. After he had "earned" his way out of thralldom, he actually still spent much of his time patrolling them.

There was a chance that there were no animal invaders in the underground tunnels.

Down there, he could hide. He could survive.

The one thing Bell had learned about himself in his 16 years on Freya was that he was a survivor.

The closest entrance to the tunnels was disguised as a pump house building. Bell still had the key to the door. Turning to his left, Bell ran under the shadow cast by the great black skyscraper that functioned as the royal palace of New Prussia. Bell looked up and saw a kong was climbing up the building.

The kong was General Scar, and he was carrying a blond woman in his left hand (confirming that it _was_ indeed a woman riding on his back).

General Scar clearly knew where the seat of power in New Prussia was. It made sense, Bell thought. Surely the top monkey tended to take over the highest branch in the tree. People hadn't changed from monkeys all that much in that regard, Bell reckoned.

Bell turned his attention back to getting to the fake pump house. As he did so, he saw a new danger.

A group of at least twenty thralls were running through the streets, yelling angrily and carrying various work implements like they were improvised weapons. Some of them were bloodstained.

Bell ducked into the closest alley he could find. Although Bell himself had never supervised thralls, he had no illusions what a gang of them, now freed by the kong invasion, would do to someone wearing the uniform of the New Prussian Guard.

Behind him, Bell heard a crash. Undoubtedly, General Scar was now breaking into Kaiser Dietz's palace. The prospect of General Scar catching and crushing Kaiser Dietz did not bother Bell. It wasn't as if _he_ would mourn the man.

Bell peeked around into the street. The gang of thralls had moved on. Bell ran across the street and into the open. If the gang saw him now, he would try to outrun them. But he saw no sign of them, and soon he was looking at the fake pump house. It was built out of grey cinderblocks created from the rough grey sand of an Atlantean beach about four miles to the south. For some reason, the pump houses, real and fake, all had roofs painted bright blue.

And the door was still closed!

Trying to control his eagerness, Bell now jogged carefully towards the fake pump house, looking left, right, and behind him at regular intervals. He would lock the door behind him. He didn't want anyone or any_thing _following him into the tunnels.

Then, when he was about 20 feet away, the fake pump house exploded.

Bell, startled, threw himself flat on the street. Chunks of cinderblocks flew overhead. One chunk struck him painfully on the back. Bell looked up, and saw a yet another surreal scene from a nightmare.

It was manmade. It looked like one of Dietz's New Prussian tanks, but it was even larger. In fact, it looked like a hybrid between a tank and a train, sort of like a giant metal caterpillar. The rugged thing had obviously traveled through the tunnels to get here. The thing hardly had a scratch on it from breaking out of the tunnel.

Bell needed a new plan. As he turned to run away, he didn't see the grey gorillas that also emerged from the tunnel. So silently did they move that he didn't hear them running behind him.

He didn't even know that they were chasing him until they caught him.

By then, of course, it was too late. Henry Bell's greatest accomplishment in New Prussia, his survival, had come to an end.

* * *

When the Rumbler re-emerged from the tunnel into the sunlight, the sudden brightness forced Jack Driscoll to squeeze his eyes shut, and elicited an impatient curse from Long Tom Roberts.

Driscoll wanted to get out of the Rumbler and search for Ann, but he knew that she was probably as safe with King Kong as she was with them.

The trip through the tunnel had been yet another nightmare from Planet Terror. Once they and the ants had cleared the minefield between the forest and the entrance to the tunnel that Doc Savage and T'maru had used to enter New Prussia previously, the Rumbler had rolled through the minefield to the tunnel entrance. The hatch had been locked, but the judicious use of some of Monk's plastique had taken care of that.

The tunnel itself was dark and cramped, but it was wide enough to accommodate the Rumbler, which was not surprising because it was also wide enough to accommodate Dietz's tanks. The Rumbler's headlights illuminated the tunnel, which was a featureless rectangular shaft. Above, Driscoll could hear the muffled explosions of mines, and for the thousandth time hoped that Ann was OK.

Then, about 10 minutes after they had entered the tunnel, they saw movement.

"Look at that," Long Tom said quietly and grimly.

"Blazes!" exclaimed Monk. "Those are some of the grey gorillas that Doc and T'maru were talking about."

Sure enough, fleeing ahead of them were grey apes. They looked vaguely like gorillas, but less formed than the kong. Most of the gorillas were carrying things that looked like clubs. Some of them threw their clubs at the Rumbler, for all the good it did them.

"Long Tom," said Ham. "I think this is where Doc said that he and T'maru got into the city."

"Yeah," Long Tom said. "I see the stairs. Hold on!"

All of them were already strapped into their seats, but Driscoll held tightly onto the arms of his chair nevertheless.

And that was how the Rumbler entered New Prussia.

Driscoll slowly opened his eyes as they adjusted to the light. Around him, he head restraints unbuckling, so he undid his as well. As he stood, the interior of the Rumbler was still a blur, but by the time he took his first step, things resolved themselves.

"I think I'm gonna be _sick_!" he heard Pat Savage exclaim. Driscoll joined Pat at looking out a side window, and swiftly wished he hadn't. Some of the grey gorillas were busy pounding a man's head to jelly. Even though the man was wearing what Driscoll assumed was a New Prussian military uniform, it didn't lessen his disgust.

Then, the grey gorillas scattered as two of their gigantic kong cousins ran by.

"So what do we do now?" Driscoll asked.

"We find Heart, and the crew of the Venture, if any of them are still alive, and get them out of this place," said Ham grimly. "And in the meantime, we help any person we come across in need, regardless of what he or she is wearing."

* * *

"Jimmy," T'maru said. "I suggest we move well away from the window."

Jimmy Hayes looked at T'maru, who was looking behind him. He felt a chill when the hallway darkened. Something _big_ was blocking the light from the window. Partially against his will, Jimmy turned and looked towards the window, only to see the huge, scarred visage of King Kong, Adolf Dietz's feared General Scar himself, looking intently back at him!

Jimmy felt T'maru tug at his arm, but he really didn't need much urging to move away from the window. Jimmy and T'maru moved around the corner of the hall, and they heard rather than saw the window shatter inward.

T'maru then walked back the way they had come. When Jimmy turned the corner, he saw the most startling sight. Miss Ann Darrow, holding a Wakandan sonic spear as if she knew how to use it!

"Jimmy!" Ann cried, and ran to him and hugged him.

Jimmy hugged tightly back. Tears wanted to come, but Jimmy held them back. There was too much left to do.

He barely heard the voice of Doc Savage speak behind him.

"I'm afraid I let Adolf Dietz get away from me."

* * *

Adolf Dietz II woke to excruciating pain, both in his head and in his knees. He tried to move, even tried to think, but could do neither. He didn't even notice the sting on his left bicep.

"This is a fast acting analgesic, and I have injected it directly into the muscle," a deep and calm voice said. The owner of the voice spoke in English.

Young Dietz squeezed his eyes closed. A minute passed, then two, and suddenly he found that a lot of the pain was gone. Or, more accurately, the pain was not so much gone as it was different, more like he had weights in his head and knees than actual pain.

He tried to push himself up, but a strong hand gently restrained him.

"Don't try to stand up," the same voice said, this time in German. "Your knees are too badly damaged. Your left knee cap is shattered, and I believe you have sustained damage to ligaments in both knees."

Young Dietz began to remember what had happened. It was Jimmy Hayes. The scrawny little thing had ungratefully beaten him down with a table leg! Young Dietz felt enraged at being so ill treated by his friend.

That rage lasted until Young Dietz opened his eyes, and saw Jimmy Hayes, still holding his improvised club, standing next to a man clad in a form fitting black suit that included a face obscuring mask, and also next to a beautiful blond woman holding a spear. Then, he simply felt fear.

"Mr. Hayes won't hurt you again," the voice said, again speaking in German. Young Dietz turned to see the owner of that voice. It was a man with hair and skin the same hue as his own. But there was no thrall collar around his neck, and the style of clothes he wore, while familiar, was not New Prussian. Although the man was not quite as big as he was, Young Dietz immediately understood, without being told, that this man was far stronger than him.

Clearly, this was the Doctor Savage who had dared to write a message on his father's building!

"You will regret this!" Young Dietz started to bluster. "My father will..."

"Your father has already fled, and left you to us," said the man in the form fitting black suit. He spoke English with an accent Young Dietz had never heard before. "And my friend is probably the best doctor on two worlds. You would be wise to listen to his advice."

Young Dietz tried to stand, but his knees gave way, and some of the pain returned.

As he lay gasping, he felt another prick on his arm.

"This is a compound that will make you unable to muster the resources to lie," Doctor Savage said in German. "We have questions, and in your father's absence, we will ask them of you."

* * *

When the Empire State building was under construction, the builders noticed what seemed to be a remarkable framing for an unusual elevator shaft.

The shaft wasn't actually for an elevator, but for a highly unusual kind of roller coaster bullet train that connected the 86th floor of the Empire State Building to the Hildalgo Trading Company warehouse. The claustrophobic Monk's name for the small, rapidly moving train was "the go-devil." To board the "go-devil" on the 86th floor was indeed an unnerving experience, especially for someone who was claustrophobic. The prospective passenger got into a small, cramped passenger compartment facing upwards (which meant that the passenger traveling to the warehouse was traveling backwards, but gravity didn't allow the passenger to get in any other way). After strapping himself in, someone closed the compartment door over his head so that he was in complete darkness. Then, with incredible acceleration, the person found themselves going rapidly _downwards_ down the length of the Empire State Building. Most of the rest of the trip to the warehouse was spent decelerating.

The go-devil was the invention of Doc Savage and Renny, with some assistance from Long Tom. So far as Doc knew, it was unique in all the world.

And so it was, on _Earth_.

But now, on Freya, or Planet Terror, Doc found himself looking into another go-devil shaft. And in the distance, Doc could hear a rapidly moving bullet train decelerating. In a matter of seconds, Dietz was already at least a mile away. Doc had no way of catching the villain now.

Fortunately, when he followed the sound of shattering glass that announced the arrival of King Kong, he also found Dietz's son. Hopefully, the son would know the location of the father's captives, specifically Heart Hawkins and surviving Venture crew.

* * *

When the bullet escape train finally came to a stop, Dietz emerged into his alternative quarters. Everything he might need was there. Food (including frozen meat, vegetables, and fruit), a bed, and a climate controlled office with multiple periscopes that allowed him to observe what was happening on the surface.

There were also people. Two office staff who kept and filed duplicate records of all the business Dietz did in his palace office; three thralls, two to cook and clean, one to warm his bed; and two bodyguards.

"Excellency, what is happening?" one of the guards asked as Dietz unlocked the door to his backup office. They did not have the keys to unlock Dietz's backup office, so they had no way of knowing what was happening on the surface.

Dietz lied easily.

"We have been attacked," Dietz said. "Apparently, a few kong have survived and in an act of final desperation, they have attacked New Prussia. Our forces are repelling the attack, but just to be safe I allowed Counselor Sitter to send me down here. You know what an old woman the man is."

"Yes, Excellency," the guard said. The guard looked as if he might ask another question, but Dietz's cold stare discouraged any further questioning of the Kaiser of New Prussia.

Dietz closed and relocked the office door. He didn't have much time. He had little doubt that this Doctor Savage would eventually find his way to this hidden office. This Savage had to be a very clever indeed for a man like for Brigadier General Theodore Marley Brooks to cede leadership to him.

Dietz unlocked a periscope and looked on the surface. He saw two columns of mimic ants running through the streets, and once he saw the massive hands and feet of a passing knuckle walking kong. He went to the next periscope, and here he saw multiple dead bodies of his New Prussian Guard, and even more dead bodies of thralls.

Clearly, the thralls were taking advantage of this opportunity to rebel. He would have to make an object lesson of many of them, once he took his city back.

But first things first, he had to escape New Prussia, and before he got out, he had to take his most prized possession with him: The incomparable mind of one William "Heart" Hawkins.

Dietz turned on his backup wireless. He wasn't disappointed. Soon, he heard the signal, faint but definite.

His idiot son had revealed the location of Hawkins to this Doctor Savage fellow. This Doctor Savage, in turn, had used wireless equipment to notify his fellows in whatever land craft they were using.

But Dietz had another bullet train between his hidden offices and the quarters of Mr. Hawkins.

Dietz took his spare Lugar from his top left desk drawer. He quickly checked the gun over to make certain it was in prime condition. Then he re-emerged from his office.

"You," he said to the larger of the two bodyguards. "You come with me."

* * *

Ham Brooks was so excited that he found it difficult to breath. He knew that his friends, especially Monk Mayfair and Long Tom Roberts, felt the same way.

Heart Hawkins was alive!

Doc had used his remote detonator to send a wireless signal to the Rumbler. The signal confirmed not only that Heart was alive, but communicated his exact location as well!

Long Tom turned the Rumbler around. They would have to backtrack a bit towards the huge wall that protected New Prussia from the wildlife of Planet Terror. Heart's quarters were apparently in the very shadow of that wall. Ham hoped the quarters hadn't been damaged by some errant stone from the sling of a kong or the talons of a roc!

"We're coming for you, Sergeant Hawkins!" Ham whispered. "We leave no man behind!"

"Damn right," Monk rumbled beside him.

The words rang false, of course. Hawkins had been left to Adolf Dietz's not-so-tender mercies for over 16 years. Ham prayed that there was something left of his old comrade's brilliant spirit after all that time with a psychopath.

* * *

Reynolds stumbled. Henderson had run out of gas, and was now a dead weight draped between Ashford and himself.

The scene around them was one of insanity. Clearly, the godawful wildlife of Skull Island had breached New Prussia's Great Wall and now literally ran wild through the city streets. Several times, the erstwhile crew members of the Venture had to turn away from columns of red ants the size of midsized dogs. Each time, the ants left them alone. In the skies above them, huge white birds circled. Occasionally, there was the sound of a sporadic gunshot, followed up by a wail of terror that was quickly cut off.

And twice, they saw giant gorillas. Neither was a big as Kong, but they were huge nevertheless.

Neither gorilla paid them any heed.

Reynolds and Ashford and the rest tried to follow the thrall who had freed them, but he and his companion outpaced them and soon vanished out of sight around the corner. The streets of New Prussia were not all straight, and on two occasions the men found themselves actually walking back _towards _the New Prussian wall. Upon these occasions, the men turned around and walked in the opposite direction. None of them had any love for the New Prussians, but they were certain that their chances were even worse with colossal gorillas and vast armies of giant red ants.

It was when the men emerged into a giant town square that they realized that escape was impossible.

It was Singh who saw them first.

"Mr. Reynolds!" he said in a whisper tight and harsh with terror. "Look!"

Reynolds looked in the direction Singh pointed, and saw four big red ants standing in their path!

At that moment, Henderson collapsed to his knees. Ashford and Reynolds almost fell forward with him, but were able to ease him down. The ants didn't make any hostile moves, or for that matter any moves at all.

At least until they started to make a sound. It started as a low vibration, difficult to make out, but then it got louder and louder, until Reynolds, with a gasp, realized what he was hearing.

The voice of Carl Denham, saying:

"_Follow the path. We're __**all**__ on the same page now._"

"Reynolds, look!" Singh whispered again. This time, the Indian crewman was pointing to their right. Reynolds turned and looked, and saw more ants, walking in columns. And between them, Reynolds presumed, was their path.

Then, three giant gorillas appeared between the two lines of ants. Two of them were huge, one of them definitely bigger than King Kong! The other was much smaller, with white hair and black skin.

They were all looking up.

_What were they waiting for?_ Reynolds wondered.

The answer arrived in seconds, as a grey tri-plane flew right over their heads.

Reynolds and the rest of the surviving crew of the Venture had seen New Prussian aircraft before, but the big gorillas and the ants seemed unconcerned about this one's arrival. When the tri-plane turned and flew over them again, Reynolds saw that the New Prussian black crosses had been painted over with a white skull and crossbones.

Skull and crossbones. _Skull Island?_

Then, the airplane turned one more time, slowing and descending, coming in for a landing. As the ants stood, now silently, and the three giant gorillas watched impassively, the plane landed and taxied to a stop right in front of Reynolds and his companions. The engine was shut off.

Even before the pilot jumped out of the plane, Reynolds knew who it would be.

"_**Hello, boys**_! Denham shouted. "You ready to get out of here?"

Next

War and Remembrance

(with more than a tip of the hat to Herman Wouk)

**The next chapter is the **_**final**_** chapter folks. End of the road. **


	32. Chapter 32 War and Remembrance

**Note to readers. Even though I am going ahead and posting this chapter, it is still a work in progress. I am having a difficult time wrapping this baby up, with so many characters with their individual plotlines. So, I ask you to bear with me on this one.**

Chapter 32

War and Remembrance

**February 8, 1934 (Earth calendar)**

Carl Denham was happier than he had been in a long time, more so even than when he first realized that Hilda MacKenzie cared for him as more than just a friend. He doubted that he would ever feel worthy of her, but he had done what he needed to do. He had done the task that, somehow, Captain Englehorn had set for him from beyond the grave.

Reynolds, Singh, Ashford, Henderson (who looked very rough), and von Kroenigswald. Were they the only ones left?

Denham asked them.

"Jimmy might still be around here someplace," Reynolds said. "One of the guards told us that Harker was dead."

"What about O'Hara, Helstrom, Murdock, and Hanks?" Denham asked.

"They were in the other lifeboat, the one that got strafed," Ashford said.

"Yeah, I saw that," Denham said. "The strafing I mean, I couldn't tell who was in the boat."

"We thought you might have been in that other lifeboat," Singh said.

"Nope, I'd already been pitched overboard by Hanks and O'Hara," Denham said. "Guess I won't be able to talk to them about it, though."

Reynolds cleared his throat nervously. Ashford looked at Reynolds and nodded. Reynolds nodded back and turned and looked at Carl Denham with a very serious expression on his face.

"Mr. Denham," he said. "Englehorn told Jimmy that, once we found you, we were to put _you_ in charge."

Carl Denham was stunned.

_Me? _Denham said. Or tried to. He found that his surprise had robbed him of his ability to speak.

* * *

The sounds were fading.

Ten years before, William "Heart" Hawkins had heard noises like this, when General Scar and his kong army tried to breach the Great Wall of New Prussia. They had failed, and according to Adolf Dietz, they all died for their failure.

Clearly, the self proclaimed Kaiser of New Prussia had been mistaken.

This time, the sounds of attack lasted longer. Also, Heart could have sworn this time that he heard the roars of kong on _this_ side of the wall.

Perhaps, just perhaps, there was something to what Mr. Jimmy Hayes told him after all.

Heart shook his head savagely and laughed harshly at his pathetic attempt at hope. Renny, Ham, Monk, and Long Tom, _here_ after all these years? Absurd! How could they even _know _that a place like Freya and Atlantis existed? And the idea that a film crew could kidnap the most formidable of the kong, both in strength and in intellect? That was _beyond_ absurd!

Jimmy Hayes was simply Dietz's latest version of playing with him.

Again.

As if in response to the thoughts of his captor (Heart refused to even _think_ of the word "master"), there was a rumbling sound beneath Heart's feet. Heart knew the meaning of that sound. After all, he had helped Dietz design his "escape train." Heart was disgusted as he thought of all the assistance that he had rendered to Dietz over the years, even though he was a thrall and really had no choice. Once again, Heart Hawkins cursed himself for his cowardice.

The rumbling faded as the bullet train came to a complete stop. The next moment, there was a grinding sound, of metal on concrete, as the floor panel that connected Heart's quarters to the train tunnel was unlocked. True to form, Dietz emerged out of the trap door gun first. It always amazed Heart how Dietz seemed to know just where he was standing.

"Hello, Mr. Hawkins," Dietz said. It was always "Mr. Hawkins" with him. The form of address sounded respectful, but both of them knew it wasn't. "It is time for us to leave."

At that moment, the metal door of Heart's quarters smashed inward. Heart turned. The lighting was dim in his quarters (by Dietz's design, the light in Heart's quarters was _just_ bright enough for him to draw and review diagrams and blueprints), and the brightness of the outside light was disorienting. However, this sudden entrance had both him _and_ Dietz blinking. Heart blinked once, twice, and the details of the figures standing in the door gradually resolved themselves.

One was of medium height, handsome, with just a touch of grey at the temples. He had the mobile mouth of an orator. The other looked like a cross between a man and a orangutan. Heart Hawkins knew both men very well.

_Perhaps I __**do **__owe Mr. Jimmy Hayes an apology, _Heart thought.

Both Ham Brooks and Monk Mayfair were armed with unusual looking pistols, and these pistols were pointed right at Dietz!

"Get away from our friend, creep!" Monk growled.

"You heard the big stupid ape, Admiral," Ham said. "And if you fail to comply, I will gladly let my unspeakably ugly friend pull off your arms and legs like a bully with a cockroach."

In spite of himself, Heart chuckled at the attorney's sideways insult.

Some things, it appeared, never did change.

* * *

_He needed a translator, but none was available. _

_Kong watched as his little ape friends, particularly the bronze skinned little ape, interviewed their captive, the other bronze skinned ape. The other bronze skinned ape was very large for his kind, but Kong could tell he was young. Too young to be the leader of the little ape invaders. Kong was certain that his friends were interviewing the other bronze skinned little ape about the whereabouts of his leader. _

_Kong turned his head and looked out at the little ape colony. He saw two dead silverbacks, and felt sad that he only knew the name of one of them. Other silverbacks, some black backs and some females, roamed the pathways of the colony with their ant allies. Resistance appeared to be over. As far as Kong could tell, the only fighting still going on was between factions of the little apes themselves. The little bronze skinned ape and the little dark skinned ape had, through the female interpreter, told him that the leader of the colony enslaved many of his fellow little apes. Every one of his little ape allies seemed to be as disgusted with the concept as Kong was. _

_But then, Kong knew that he too was a descendent of little ape slaves. _

_Speaking of which, he saw some of the poor little misshapen grey devils running through the colony pathways. He rumbled orders to some of the kong on the ground to round up their ugly little cousins before they could come to harm, or threaten their little ape or ant allies. _

_Kong heard the little yellow haired female yelling the little ape version of his name and turned. She pointed to herself and to the other little bronze ape, who was clearly injured. She wanted him to transport the both of them downward. Kong held up a hand, shook his head, and then pointing to the top of the tall black structure. _

_There was one last thing for him to do. For his people, for his family, and even for himself. _

_Kong climbed to the top of the black structure, stood up, beat his chest, and roared his victory. _

_From all around came echoes of the triumphant roar, not only from other kong, but from their ant and roc allies. After all, both species were gifted mimics. _

* * *

Dietz was frustrated beyond belief. If Josef Englehorn were to now rise up to pull him down to Hell itself, he would not have been surprised. After all, his most formidable enemies from the Great War had joined forces with General Scar himself.

Dietz knew that he would no longer be able to take Hawkins with him. But, he could at least deny Brigadier General Brooks and Lieutenant Colonel Mayfair their reunion with their former comrade. Dietz turned quickly, intending to shoot Heart Hawkins as a final gesture of defiance. But as Dietz turned, his nose exploded in blinding pain, and his Luger was yanked from his hand.

As he blinked away tears, Dietz realized that it was Heart Hawkins who had assaulted and disarmed him!

With a scream of rage and dismay, Dietz ran to and jumped into the open trap door leading to his bullet train tunnel. He landed hard and awkwardly, twisting his ankle somewhat. But, somehow, he made it back into his bullet train. Somehow, no one shot at him or grabbed him as he buckled himself in and pushed the button that turned on the electricity to his train. He was off! He had escaped again!

Or so he thought, until the dimly lit tunnel went completely dark, and the humming of the train came to a stop. The bullet train came to a stop soon after that.

In complete and total darkness.

* * *

"One of us should have shot him," Ham said conversationally.

"Yeah, shyster," Monk replied. "Why didn't you?"

"I was leaving him to you," Ham replied. "Why didn't _you _shoot him?"

"I figured Heart ought to get first crack at him," Monk replied.

Ham's face turned red, just a little. It was a subtle dig, but a very successful one. Ham would now feel bad that Monk had thought of their friend's own claim to justice first.

"Ham?" Heart said. "Monk? Are you fellows really here?"

Ham felt vindicated, just a little, that Heart had said _his_ name first. But then, as both of them were hugging their long lost old friend, the game of one-upmanship suddenly lost all importance.

* * *

It had been a 22 story walk down 45 flights of stairs. The rocs, with their stone bombing raids, had shut down the power plants, so the elevators were not working. One was clearly run on some sort of diesel fuel that Adolf Dietz had invented, the other was a hydro-electric dam built about four miles north of New Prussia.

At the bottom of the stairs, King Kong and Ann Darrow were waiting for them. There were also about 20 to 30 other kong, mostly silverbacks. Doc recognized Kiko, Tumbler, and The Magnificent among the waiting kong. Doc also saw Carl Denham standing among the surviving crew of the Venture. Doc was disappointed to find only 5 of them remained.

Jimmy, on the other hand, gave a whoop and ran over to embrace the other men. Obviously, Jimmy Hayes had been pleasantly surprised to find this many survivors. One of them, Doc thought his name was Henderson, looked like he needed his immediate attention.

"T'maru," Doc said. "Could you go find my brothers and Pat? They should be over where the younger Dietz said Heart was being held."

"Of course, Doc," T'maru said, and then he was gone, moving so quickly and silently that even Doc barely registered his departure.

Doc examined Henderson. He had a fever. Doc gave him water, and also gave him two Sulfonamide pills of his and Monk's own devising.

"He's going to need more water," Doc said to an anxious looking Carl Denham.

"Good thing we had the rocs leave the water treatment plant alone, even though it's probably shut down now due to the power outage," Denham said.

Doc nodded. With this concentration of people here, there would still be a need to re-establish electricity, especially to the water treatment plant. Renny and Long Tom, with some assistance from T'maru and perhaps even Heart Hawkins, could see to that.

"So what are you going to do with him?" Jimmy asked. Doc turned and looked at the young man, who was pointing at the injured and clearly angry Adolf Dietz II. Doc noted that, in this situation, the younger Dietz seemed to be more angry and frustrated than scared. This indicated the likelihood of an unfortunate diagnosis, one that, more than anything else, Doc Savage had dedicated his life to diagnosing and treating.

"I plan to send him to a clinic in upstate New York, where I hope to rehabilitate him," Doc said. There was also a surgical center hidden in an ancient valley located in the country of Hildago. The valley contained the last surviving vestige of an Old Mayan civilization which was, like the Wakanda (though not to the same extent), more advanced in some ways than "modern" civilization.

"Good _luck_," Jimmy said skeptically. Then he turned to a happier subject, his reunion with his surviving crew mates.

* * *

Renny landed his plane under the Great Wall and taxied it alongside the Rumbler. There, he found Long Tom trying to pick open the lock of a thrall collar, with Monk, Johnny, Jack Driscoll, Ham, and Pat all standing around watching anxiously. The thrall collar was around the neck of his colleague and friend, Heart Hawkins. Renny had been the man to first recommend Heart Hawkins for membership in Brigadier General Brooks' Think Tank, a recommendation heartily seconded by General Pershing himself.

The thought of what Heart must have endured as a thrall was unbearable.

"Move away, Long Tom," Renny said, his voice tight with emotion. He was no Doc Savage, but he was still massively strong, and today he felt powered by a clean and righteous anger.

Renny grabbed Heart's collar in his massive hands and twisted. There was the sound of splintering wood tearing away from the metal lock, and the collar opened.

Renny then threw it away in disgust.

Renny and Heart embraced. Neither even noticed the arrival of the Black Panther.

* * *

"Aw, what a gyp!" roared Monk about an hour later. They had all returned to the Rumbler after Renny had disabled his commandeered airplane.

Pat was inclined to agree. Although she was by no means anxious to get into a fire fight on city streets against an enemy who knew the layout better, a fist fight or two would have been cathartic.

However, the first group of men in New Prussian uniforms they came across immediately put their hands up in surrender.

So did the second group, and the third. Upon talking to them in German, Monk and Ham were soon able to determine the reason why.

These men wanted shelter. Shelter from the mimic ant hordes. Shelter from the kong. And most of all, shelter from the angry ex-thralls who were anxious to get some payback for years of abuse.

"It's not really surprising," Heart Hawkins said from his seat in the Rumbler, right after taking a sip of the brandy that Jack Driscoll had brought him. "Dietz kept them in line by terrorizing them with the prospect of what would happen if he ever lost control.

"In his absence, they probably figure you folks are the only chance for mercy that they have."

"Stupid mercy," Monk grumbled. Still, he assisted Ham in ordering their new prisoners to follow the Rumbler with their hands on their heads.

By the time the Rumbler arrived in what appeared to be the main square, right in the shadow of the black skyscraper that was once the palace of the self proclaimed Kaiser Dietz, they had a line of several dozen prisoners following them. However, when the prisoners saw the crowd of kong standing in the square, most of them turned and ran. The kong ignored them.

"Where's Doc?" Pat said anxiously to T'maru. " You _said_ they were all right."

"They were when I left them," T'maru said. "I still have no reason to think otherwise."

And sure enough, as they got closer she could see, standing among the tree trunk like arms and legs of the kong, her "cousin" Doc, Ann Darrow, Carl Denham, and some of the Venture crew. Pat was particularly relieved to see Jimmy Hayes among them.

He was rather cute, if a little young for her taste.

* * *

Adolf Dietz hobbled through the darkness. It hadn't taken him long to realize that his enemies would have hit both the power plant and the dam. That left only the underground diesel generators, and the former Major Roberts would have easily found and shut down the one that ran this section of track.

Dietz listened for pursuit but heard none. Incredibly, Dietz found he was more disappointed than relieved.

Didn't they know who he was? What he could do?

In the complete darkness, Dietz felt his way to the nearest maintenance tunnel, and from there to a ladder. With his bad ankle, the climb was painful, but he made it. Closing his eyes tightly, he shoved aside the man hole and waited for his eyes to adjust to the sudden light.

There really wasn't that much light. Just the light that filtered through two dirty windows and under the steel door to the pump house. Dietz carefully walked to the dirty window and looked out. He was still on the thrall side of the city, but he suspected there wouldn't be many thralls here. In fact, he suspected there wouldn't be many human beings anywhere here, with the kong and mimic ants entering the city.

The human beings would have fled from the wild invaders to the east end of the city.

To the docks.

Dietz found a large plumber's wrench, long enough to serve him as a cane and a weapon, leaning against one of the walls.

He hobbled over to the door, edged it open, looked around, and seeing no one and no thing, stepped out.

He knew where there was another pump house, this one a false one. There, he would re-enter the tunnels, and make his way to a hidden and pressurized underground dock, where his personal, one man sub awaited him.

He would escape, and find others among his men who had escaped.

They would bide their time, re-arm themselves, and build their strength.

Adolf Dietz had built New Prussia once from the ground up. He could do it again.

* * *

As the long morning on Planet Terror/Freya gave way to a long afternoon, Kong and his army consolidated their hold on the city of New Prussia. For their part, Johnny, Long Tom, Monk, Jack Driscoll, and young Jimmy Hayes cautiously accompanied kong and ant patrols as they moved through the city to tell New Prussian troops that they would have nothing to fear if they surrendered. Occasionally, they were fired upon from a window or from behind a building corner, but a sling thrown stone would end the outburst before Johnny or the others could even return fire with their machine pistols.

The number of dead bodies was sickening. Hundreds of ants had been shot to pieces, and lying among them were the bodies of New Prussian troops, clearly dismembered by the sharp jaws of mimic ants.

So far, they had come across only two dead kong. With the loss of air superiority, the ability of the New Prussians to kill an organized force of kong had clearlydeclined. Still, the air vibrated with low moans that Hilda MacKenzie had told them were the funeral songs of kong. Before they left on their patrol, Kiko had brought Hilda into the main city square to be reunited with Carl Denham.

They slowly walked through the streets towards the docks. Jimmy Hayes, who knew the city best because of his "tours" with Adolf Dietz II, or as Jimmy called him, "Junior", led them through the streets.

"Hey," Monk said. "Do you guys hear that?"

Johnny listened. He did hear something. Human voices in the distance, shouting in anger.

"Yes, I also auditorially apprehend the distant presence of an agitated aggregation of numerous individual hominids," Johnny said.

"I hear them too," Long Tom agreed.

* * *

Dietz made his way to the fake pump house without incident. This one had been broken into, but no one had found the hidden entrance to the tunnels. Dietz went over to a set of shelves and pulled them aside, revealing the hidden door behind them. He then unlocked the door with his key, and went inside. After locking the door behind him, he was again in total darkness, but not for long. He found and started the diesel generator that powered this section of tunnel. Dim lighting slowly came to life. This was not the narrow escape train tunnel, but rather the larger network of tunnels that tanks and men moved through. Dietz realized that there was a possibility that he could run into some of the grey gorillas, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He had no illusions about what would happen to him if a gang of thralls found him, much less a kong or a column of mimic ants.

Dietz also found an electric torch lying on a shelf next to the generator, and he took it but did not start it.

There was no need to draw additional attention to himself.

Dietz started hobbling towards the hidden submarine dock, where his personal escape submarine awaited him. His ankle was hurting now more than ever, but he did not stop. He knew that to stop was to die. His enemies would not take the chance of leaving him alive.

* * *

Sitter opened the door into the compression chamber. There was no sign of Kaiser Dietz, and Sitter quickly decided to wait no longer. Sitter entered the chamber and closed the metal door. Then, he turned on the air pressure. Because of the huge tides on Freya, it was necessary to keep the pressure high to keep sea water from filling the hidden submarine dock during high tide. The dock, as were many of the tunnels, was built from the tidal caves that honeycombed the stone under the east side of the city. Sitter felt his ears pop and his eyes water. New Prussia was finished. The only civilized refuge on a savage world had fallen, and apparently its king had fallen with it.

It was now every man for himself.

When the air pressure in the compression chamber matched that of the air within the hidden submarine dock, Sitter opened the inner door. As he did so, he heard a metallic pounding commence on the outer door. He thought he might also hear a faint human voice, shouting.

Could it have been the Kaiser himself?

No matter. Whoever it was, it was too late now.

* * *

Dietz pounded on the metal door with his plumber's wrench. When Dietz found the hidden door to the passageway to the hidden submarine dock left open, he knew it was a bad sign. When he found the lights in the passageway already working (powered by their own generator), he knew that Counselor Sitter had betrayed him.

Dietz heard the inner door open, and he pounded on the outer door harder.

"You bastard!" he yelled. "How dare you desert me! How dare you take _my_ submarine!"

But, Dietz heard the thrum of the submarine's engine starting up. It was a small but swift thing, with room for no more than three people, and it easily could be operated by one. The submarine's only surviving designers and builders were Dietz and his counselor.

Dietz stopped pounding on the door and listened in disbelief as the sound of the engine receded. He had to find another way out.

And, as the sound of the submarine engine faded away entirely, Dietz heard a new sound. Angry human voices, shouting.

Some of the thrall mob had found their way into the tunnels.

* * *

Once again, the name Planet Terror came to mind as Jack Driscoll saw the bloodstained mob before him. Most of them were thralls, but some of them were wearing the uniforms of the New Prussian Guard. Something, however, had united them.

Their kong escorts, including King Kong himself, held back as Driscoll, Monk, Long Tom, and Johnny all approached the mob. Jimmy, under strict orders from Monk Mayfair, stayed with the kong. They were at the docks. The water was a rainbow of oil, the only remaining sign of the ships that the rocs had bombed into the bottom of the bay. When the tide went down, the ships would be revealed.

Monk, his voice deeper and much more commanding than his usual screech, spoke to the mob in German. Some of the people closest to them turned and started to advance on them threateningly.

"Shoot into the air," Monk said. They all did so. It just seemed to make the mob angrier. More of them turned and started to edge towards them. There were shouted threats, some in German, some in English, some in other languages Driscoll doubted that he had ever heard before.

"If they attack, shoot them," Long Tom told Driscoll.

"That will be a slaughter," Driscoll protested.

"We have mercy bullets," Long Tom said. "We won't be killing anybody."

"The mob won't know that," Driscoll said. "They'll panic, either running away or attacking us, and when they do so, the people we shot will be trampled. I think there's another way to calm this bunch down."

So saying, Driscoll turned towards the kong standing about 100 yards away and motioned towards his _friend_, King Kong. Kong started to approach them. Driscoll then pantomimed a roar. Kong nodded, and the next second the huge scarred silverback roared at the mob.

As one, the mob stopped what they were doing, turned, and stared.

"Good idea, Driscoll," Monk said.

The ape like chemist then turned and spoke to the mob. The mob moved apart, and in the middle, there was a patch of gore. It was a mixture of shredded clothing, red bones, and what looked like raw hamburger. As Driscoll watched in complete disgust, one collared thrall dropped his half of a broken femur onto the cement.

"Eyugggh!" Johnny said, for once at a loss for _any_ words, much less long ones.

Monk asked the mob a question in German.

From several voices at once came a one word answer.

One name.

* * *

Dietz carefully climbed up the nearest ladder. He was running out of places to go. He emerged into another false pump house, this one also had been broken into and raided. Underneath him, he could hear the mob approaching closer.

Holding tightly onto his plumber's wrench turned cane, he hobbled to the broken open door of the false pump house and looked out cautiously. He was now by the docks, and the late afternoon sun cast the long shadows of New Prussia onto the docks and the surface of the ocean, which was at high tide.

But what drew his attention was the skirmish between a mob of perhaps fifty thralls and twenty of his New Prussian Guard. His guard was fighting valiantly. They had clearly run out of bullets, but they swung their rifles like clubs and kept the mob at bay. The guards had their backs to Dietz, which meant that they already stood between their Kaiser and the bloodthirsty mob!

Dietz felt a small surge of hope. There were still New Prussians fighting! He quickly made a decision and half hobbled and half ran to the nearest guardsman.

"Come with me!" he ordered the man. "I can find a place for us to make a stand, then hide!"

The most remarkable thing then happened.

The fighting stopped. Dietz's New Prussian Guard turned as one to face him. The thralls to the far side of them stopped and stared. The nearest guardsman said nothing, but simply stared at him as well.

"Quickly now, while they are still surprised, we can..." The nearest guardsman then grabbed Kaiser Adolf Dietz by the front of his shirt with his right hand. He was a big strapping fellow, half German, half Atlantean. The left hand easily wrenched the plumber's wrench out of Dietz's grasp. Then, the guardsman raised Dietz over his head, and passed him to another guardsman. As Dietz yelled in disbelief, he was passed over the heads of his guardsmen to the mob of thralls. Then, he was no longer held up over heads, but brought into the range of pulling hands and gnashing teeth.

In the roaring agony of his final seconds of life, Adolf Dietz heard one of his guardsmen shout:

"_**Leave some for us**_!"

* * *

Captain Willi Franks stood on the deck of the Dietz in horrified disbelief. Every cannon and machine gun on the deck was a smoking ruin. The engines (miraculously?) had been spared, and for the most part apart from the vicinity of the cannons the decks were intact. There was no doubt in Captain Franks' mind that the birds could have sunk his battleship, and for some reason chose not to. At least yet.

"Captain!" cried his second officer (the first officer was dead, crushed along with the machine gun he tried to use against one of the giant white birds). "Look to port!"

Franks walked to port and what he saw chilled him to the bone. There were killer whales, dozens of them, swimming to the side of the ship.

"Get to the armory," Franks said. "Arm every man you can. If these birds sink us, those things will easily be able to swamp our lifeboats unless we can hold them off."

"Yes, sir, Captain," the second officer, Korber, said.

As Korber ran below decks to the armory, Franks looked up. The white birds had all flown up high, well out of range. They were circling so high that they looked like average sized sea birds. As Franks watched, some of the birds flew off as others arrived. Franks suspected that they were getting more rocks for their next bombing run.

Giant birds, who would have thought it?

Obviously, the answer to the question was General Scar.

As a new set of birds arrived, three of them peeled off from the circling flock and started to descend.

Franks felt a chill. Was the next bomb run starting? He turned to his nearest crewman.

"Go find Korber and tell him to hurry up!" Franks said.

As the crewman hurried off, Franks looked back up and saw that the birds were still descending, but it looked different than the bombing runs they had already endured. In fact, two of the birds leveled off. The other started to flap its wings as it headed straight for them!

_My God, _Franks thought. _It's coming in for a landing. _

Sure enough, the enormous bird slowed it's descent. The flapping of the wings actually blew the cap off of Franks' head as the bird hovered awkwardly above them. Korber came up from below decks with a rifle, and raised it to aim at the huge bird.

"_**No**_!" cried Franks. "_Wait, __**don't**__ shoot it_!"

Franks wasn't certain why he stopped his man from shooting the bird, which he could now see was a giant, _**giant **_white raven. What he did know was that he, his crew, and his ship were at these birds' complete mercy. Also, given the pattern of their attack, these birds were clearly intelligent, or guided by an intelligence. The bird who was putting itself at their mercy had a reason for doing so. Of this, Franks was certain.

When the giant raven landed on the railing, it gave way partially, and the great bird moved its feet apart to compensate by spreading its weight. The railing still groaned, but held, at least for the moment.

The next moment, Franks received the biggest shock of his life.

**"Who be the Captain of this ship, and what be his name?" **the great bird boomed. **"I be the Eye in the Sky, and I be here to discuss the terms of your **_**peaceful **_**surrender."**

* * *

**Whether in the oceans of Earth or on Freya, one apex predator (other than the landlings and their ships) reigned supreme: The giant dolphin Carl Linneaus called **_**Orcinus orca**_**. On Earth, they easily drove the megalodon to extinction. On Freya, they drove many of the great whales that first evolved on Freya through the Bermuda gates to Earth. Curiously, as the landlings' hunting techniques improved, many of the great whales were recently starting to return through the gates back to Freya. **

**No "natural" predator in the history of the oceans of either world came close to matching the power and intelligence of the orcas. Some pods of orcas moved between the two worlds with ease. As a result, orca pods that came from, or spent time in, the oceans of one world would then report the conditions of that world to orcas in the oceans of the other world. **

**As a result, the orcas of Freya were not surprised by the presence of submarines and other powered ships in their oceans. The orcas from pods that stayed in the oceans of Freya for generations were bigger, reaching up to 40 to 45 feet in length instead of the 25-30 foot length of their Earth dwelling cousins. But other than that, they were the same orcas.**

**Just bigger predators for bigger prey. **

**At first, the orcas of Freya chose to ignore the landlings, except to indulge their curiosity now and then. Recently, however, they were convinced to change their minds.**

**First, they were approached by a great white bird who had learned their language. It spoke to them of a war between small landlings and large landlings, and of how the small landlings posed a threat to all the creatures of their world. **

**The orcas would not have been inclined to believe the great white bird except that some of the orcas who came from Earth confirmed that the landlings in their powered ships had become quite dangerous. **

**And then there was the Other. **

**The Other was a one of those great whales that some of the orcas hunted, but he was even bigger than the others of his kind, and so old that there were tales of him going back for generations. The Other, like the great white bird, could speak their language. And he too, told the orcas of the threat the new landlings from Earth posed to their oceans. **

**And so it was that the giant landlings and the great birds, with the help of the Other, convinced the orcas to participate in their war against the little landlings with the powered ships. Four pods of orcas, all big ones whose families had stayed in the oceans of Freya for generations, swam with the Other to hunt down the landlings' submarines, and destroy them. **

* * *

Captain Smits of the U-171 stood by the wireless. New Prussia was not transmitting, and now neither was the _Dietz. _

"Try to raise U-172," Smits ordered.

"But, Captain," Warbeck, the wireless officer, said. "Kaiser ordered radio silence. Do we dare...?

"Yes," Smits said. "We dare. We have received messages from both New Prussia and the _Dietz_ about attacks by giant birds. We may be next. We have to protect ourselves, and if U-172 was attacked, we need to..."

At that moment, Smits could hear pulses coming through Warbeck's earphones. Warbeck listened and wrote down the message. The message was short.

"It's Captain Hansen and the U-172, sir," Warbeck said as he handed the message to Smits.

Smits felt a chill as he read it.

MY GOD (it read) THE WHITE WHALE

Giant birds, and now a "white whale"? Was the entire animal kingdom of Freya trying to exterminate them?

"Signal them back," Smits ordered. "Ask Captain Hansen if he needs assistance."

But they never got a response, and two and one half hours later, a huge white whale, accompanied by an army of black and white killer whales, arrived to push U-171 below its crush depth.

* * *

_King Kong watched as the little bronze ape, who evidently was a healer among his kind, inspected and poked and prodded a line of other little apes. The other little apes in his group were all assisting him, especially the one that looked almost like a little deformed kong. _

_His own people had collected the bodies of the two silverbacks they had lost in this latest attack. His daughter, the Wisest of Mothers, and other healers, were treating the wounded in the forests beyond the wall. After the horrible losses they had suffered during their last attack on the invaders' colony, Kong was amazed at how light their casualties were this time. The rocs and ants had clearly tipped the balance in their favor. Kong wondered what the birds in particular might request from his people in return. _

_As he was lost in his latest thoughts, one of the rocs, the female Eye in the Sky, spoke to him. He looked up to see her hovering over the black tower. _

_"The orcas have found a little underwater craft trying to leave the bay," the Eye said. "They want to know if you want it destroyed."_

_"Wait," Kong said. "My little ape allies might find the little craft useful. Let me ask them."_

_Kong grunted to get the attention of the dark skinned little female. She looked up, and Kong signed the Eye's message from the orcas. _

_She, in turn, spoke in her sound segmenting language to the dark skinned male, who also seemed to be a leader among his little ape allies. _

_The little female then signed back._

_"Have orcas bring back little craft if they can do it safely," she signed. _

_"I will ask," Kong replied. He knew he had little control over the orcas in the ocean. _

* * *

Sitter steered the little submarine through the bay. The submarine had a front port he used to steer. He didn't dare surface while those damn birds were up there.

The water was murky. When they had first arrived in what Dietz named Atlantis Bay, the water had been much clearer, though hardly pristine. Now it was almost impossible to see much further than 15 feet.

Still, Sitter thought, he should be able to stay safe. Hopefully, a megaladon wouldn't decide that his miniature sub looked like prey.

Then, just as Sitter thought he might be reaching the end of the bay, something emerged out of the murk. Then another something. Whales, killer whales in fact. Big ones.

They would swim towards him and then pass him.

_Surely not __**them**__ too! _Sitter thought.

But then, he hit his head painfully on the starboard side of his miniature submarine as _something _pushed hard into his port side. Then, there was another hard push from the port side, and his miniature sub started to tip. As Sitter struggled frantically to right his sub and steer it, he realized what was happening. The killer whales were starting to push him back into the bay! Sitter struggled to turn the submarine back, but when he briefly succeeded, he saw something else emerge from the murk. Something huge and white.

With a scream, Sitter turned the little sub around, deciding to take his chances with General Scar's human allies.

* * *

Two Freyan days later, Jimmy Hayes found himself sitting on top of Dietz's black palace with Pat Savage, looking east over the ocean.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why the bronze knockout sought out his company, even when Pat reminded him that they were about the same age. They were both taking a break. Doc had set up a clinic to treat both the thralls and now their shell shocked former oppressors. T'maru, Renny, and Heart Hawkins were supervising the rebuilding of the water treatment plant, and Long Tom Roberts was re-establishing electricity in certain areas of the city. The others, including the Venture's erstwhile crew, helped where they could.

A mini-sub sat bobbing in the bay. Apparently, the rocs had also formed an alliance with the packs of giant orcas, or killer whales, that patrolled the Freyan seas. The whales had retrieved Sitter and the mini-sub as soon as it had reached the open ocean, and brought it back _mostly_ intact. Sitter was apparently now going to be joining Junior in Doc Savage's "Crime College" when they all returned to Earth.

"Hey, Jimmy," Pat said. "Do you see that?"

Jimmy looked in the direction where Pat was pointing. He squinted his eyes.

"Those are _sails_," Jimmy said. He squinted his eyes some more.

"Holee...those are the _biggest_ sails I've _ever_ seen!" Jimmy exclaimed.

A voice spoke from behind them.

"That be me ship," said Hilda MacKenzie. "The _Harvester_."

Jimmy and Pat turned around. Carl Denham and Hilda were standing hand in hand.

Jimmy turned back around and looked at the horizon.

"Is _she_ with them?" Jimmy asked.

"That she is, Jimmy my boy," Denham said. "The _Dietz _is on its way, but once we get on board and take out the cannons, she'll be known forever more as the _Venture II._

"And the _Venture II_ will be our ticket home."

With that, Denham and Hilda turned and went back down the stairway into the building. When the _Dietz _arrived, Jimmy Hayes would finally become a sailor again as they converted a battleship into a cargo ship.

But meanwhile the wait, in Pat Savage's company, didn't sound so bad.

* * *

Heart Hawkins was exhausted, but it was a good exhaustion. The cabin that had been his prison now served as his home, and the men from his old unit in Europe (Ham, Monk, Renny, Long Tom, and their friend Johnny) were now all his guests.

They had worked for weeks. The former _Dietz, _now rechristened the _Venture II_, was almost ready to depart for Earth.

And incredibly, Heart Hawkins found he really didn't want to go.

He had hated his life in New Prussia and Freya, but now all he saw here were possibilities.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go with us?" Monk asked. "Workin' with Doc is...well....you've done it..."

"Oh, yes, Monk," Heart replied. "I have. He is everything you all have said he is, and more. I would be honored to work with him, and with you, again. But, I see a need here as well."

"You want to _stay_ in New Prussia?" Renny asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Heart chuckled.

"No, Renny" he said. "_Not_ New Prussia. Somewhere else."

* * *

Doc Savage sat in the Rumbler and performed the isometric exercises he first learned in the Wakanda. Across from him, performing identical exercises, sat T'maru.

"It is truly fascinating, Doc, that we have both found 'our people' here," T'maru said.

"Indeed," replied Doc. "I intend to help my mother's people rebuild the society that Dietz destroyed.

"And what of your people? What do you intend to do about the people in the City of the Dead?"

"The people of Zinj were once the people of the Wakanda," T'maru said. "The people in the City of the Dead are there because over 3,000 years ago, my ancestors prosecuted their ancestors for religious reasons. Now, they are degenerates who have little to no memory of their heritage.

"We did these people a great wrong. Now it is time to make amends. I intend to help them regain their heritage, and rebuild. Perhaps the people of Zinj will re-establish their partnership, on more equal terms, with the kong."

Doc smiled.

"Perhaps here, we can even help to build a friendship between our two peoples," Doc said.

T;maru smiled back.

"I would like that very much, my brother."


	33. Chapter 33 Epilogue, March 14, 1946

**Note: I have now divided the final chapter, after adding quite a lot to Chapter 32 to better set up the epilogue. Also, there were some key scenes that I had just plain forgotten when I first posted Chapter 32. So, I suggest you go back and read Chapter 32 before returning to Chapter 33 (and frankly, this is the same epilogue I posted before except for the notes at the beginning and end). **

Chapter 33

Epilogue, March 14, 1946 (Earth Calendar)

Lieutenant James P. Hayes, USN Retired, was happier than he had been in a very long time.

At last, he was returning home.

The young man watched the approaching wall of mist. It had been more than four years since he had last seen the wall of mist, and that was from the Freyan end, returning to Earth.

A lot had happened since his return to Earth. The US Navy recalled their special envoy to Atlantis, Lt. James Hayes, US Naval Academy Class of 1939, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Once back on the seas of Earth, Lt. Hayes conducted himself with distinction in several naval battles as the commander of a PT Boat, culminating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where he lost his left forearm and boat but saved most of his crew.

James spent the rest of the war in Naval hospitals, and in those hospitals he had several distinguished visitors, including Army officers with the last names of Brooks, Mayfair, Renwick, and Roberts. The world's most distinguished doctor came to check on his care.

But it was the visit from a famous bronze bombshell that raised the most eyebrows. Those wounded men who were able to whistled and applauded when Lt. Hayes told them the story of how he had briefly dated the famous bombshell before he was accepted into the Academy, but confessed that it "hadn't worked out."

He didn't tell them about the girl with whom things _did_ work out. The girl he met when he returned to the "City of the Dead" on the Atlantean peninsula. The young woman he ultimately married. Unfortunately, his wedding ring was lost along with the finger that wore it.

"Hey there, Lieutenant Hayes," a familiar voice cried out before a strong hand descended on his shoulder. "We're finally having some luck!"

"It's just Mr. Hayes now, Captain Denham," Lt. Hayes said. "Or, you may even call me James. Just don't call me Jimmy."

"Sure thing, James," Carl Denham said as he leaned on the railing of the _Venture II_. When the ship was on the seas of Earth, it was captained by Carl Denham. When it was on the seas of Freya, it was captained by the _other_ Captain Denham. The ship was three times the size of the old Venture. She flew the flag of Hildago, but she was actually financed by a mountainous landlocked country deep in the heart of Africa.

Lt. Hayes wished he could climb up to the crow's nest like he used to. Instead, he watched from the deck of the ship as they entered into the mists. It was afternoon on Earth, but Lt. Hayes' Freyan watch told him that it was early morning, perhaps two hours after sunrise on the Atlantean Penninsula and New Zinj, where his wife and son were waiting for him. The date would be...he did a quick calculation in his head...March 4. The Freyan months were about the same length in terms of absolute time as the Earth months, but the months had fewer days since the Freyan days were half again as long as Earth days.

As they went through the mists, Lt. Hayes began to hear the familiar pounding of waves on stone.

"Sounds like we'll be coming out close to where we arrived when we first came here," Lt. Hayes said.

"Pretty much _exactly_ where we first arrived," Captain Carl Denham agreed. Hayes smiled. Being Captain of the Venture II clearly agreed with the former movie director. He looked as hale and hearty and as larger than life than ever.

Then the fog became so thick that Lt. Hayes could barely see even Captain Denham three feet away from him.

But then, Lt. Hayes reminded himself, it wasn't Captain _Carl_ Denham now, it was now Captain _Hilda_ MacKenzie Denham, who was at the wheel of the Venture II. Carl was now _Mister_ Denham, and would be until the ship returned to Earth.

The mists started to fade into the early morning light of the Freyan sun. Lt. Hayes had spent three months, including Christmas, on the deck of the Venture II as it traveled in circles, waiting for the mists to appear. Now, the lightness that he felt in his being was not due only to the lighter Freyan gravity.

Lt. Hayes watched as the ship turned away from the wave dashed rocks under the sure hands of Hilda Denham. He still breathed a sigh of relief as the rocks receded away, and they began their approach to the place formerly known as the City of the Dead, but now known once again as New Zinj.

As they rounded the corner, Lt. Hayes saw the flag of New Zinj flapping in the wind. It was green with the portrait of a white gorilla in the center. In this, it was identical to the Wakandan flag, except in the middle of that flag there was a black panther in the center.

On the shore, people were running to greet them. One was Heart Hawkins, who along with T'maru, Doc Savage, and John Renwick, designed much of the infrastructure for New Zinj. The other was achingly familiar.

"Well, Jimmy, be you ready to go to shore?" asked Captain Hilda Denham, who had joined them next to the railing. She must have given Von Kroenigswald the helm of the ship.

"Yes, _ma'am_!" Lt. Hayes cried enthusiastically.

Mr. Carl Denham punched Hayes lightly on his whole arm.

"How come she gets to call you Jimmy and _I_ don't?" he asked.

"Because she's much prettier than you, Mr. Denham," Lt. Hayes replied.

As four year old Josef Denham ran up to him, Carl Denham picked up his son and grinned.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?"

Lt. Hayes was the first one in the lifeboat. As the Denhams and their four children all climbed into the lifeboat, along with a smiling Nate Reynolds and the rather imposing Mr. Chavez, the former Jimmy Hayes tried to restrain his impatience.

Carl Denham pulled a candy bar out of his bag, and he and Lt. Hayes shared a knowing chuckle as the life boat was lowered into the water.

Even with his remaining hand and his artificial hand, Hayes joined in on the rowing. When they hit the shore, James Hayes hopped out of the boat and helped pull it ashore. Then, he ran to his lovely dark skinned wife, who was wearing a white dress and rope sandals (_not_ made from the human hair that made up her first set of clothes). He hugged her in a tight and tearful embrace, and gave her a hard kiss before squatting down to look at the five year old boy looking seriously back at him. He could barely see his son through his tears. The last time he had seen his son, the boy was two months shy of his first birthday.

"Hello, Joshua," he said.

"Hello, Papa," Joshua said back.

"Hello, Nala," Carl Denham said to the wife of James Hayes. He held up the candy bar. "If I were to give you this, would you _promise_ not to bite?"

Nala Hayes grinned. James Hayes loved that smile.

"Let it go, Mr. Denham," she said. "Let it go, and give me my damn candy bar."

* * *

Jack Driscoll stared at the chess boards, both his and his opponent's.

He clicked his tongue. Old Kong had him over a barrel again. Driscoll was contemplating whether to try to escape or simply concede when Kong held up a hand, signaling Driscoll that something had come up. Driscoll knew that Kong was hearing a message that no human could hear.

Then Kong signed to Driscoll.

"_Carl and Hilda here._ _Jimmy with them."_

Driscoll tipped over his king to indicate his surrender.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. "_Ann_! _**Ann**_!"

Ann Darrow Driscoll came out of their house and into the "Bat Cave", followed by their two children, James and Maureen. In Ann's arms was another child, but not her own. This was the great granddaughter of King Kong, the child of Kiko and his (so far) only mate, Flower Picker. Ann was drinking Flower Picker's milk so that she could be a nursemaid to the little kong.

"What on Terror are you bellowing about, Jack Driscoll?" Ann demanded.

Driscoll chuckled in spite of himself. He had long ago decided he preferred the late and unlamented Adolf Dietz's name for his new home world, but Ann still used Terror most of the time, just to gently tease her husband.

"They've come back!" Driscoll cried. "They've come back and Jimmy's with them!"

Ann turned and looked at King Kong. He wasn't nearly as massive as he used to be. He was thin and _clearly_ old now. To Driscoll, it seemed if the King of the Kong, after the fall of New Prussia, had finally given himself permission to age.

"Do you think you're up to the trip?" Ann asked her old friend.

Kong grunted excitedly in answer.

* * *

Kiko and his mate, Flower Picker, arrived first. Kiko was now larger than any kong Denham had ever seen, even dwarfing Tumbler. After entering through the gate, Kiko climbed the Great Wall of New Zinj and started to enthusiastically sign to his oldest friend, Hilda MacKenzie Denham. Soon, the conversation extended to include both James Hayes and Carl Denham. The topic of conversation, as it always did between them, turned to sailing. Kiko, like the rest of them, was still a sailor at heart, even though he was now too big even to ride the ship he grew up on. Flower Picker rolled her eyes in good natured boredom, but also intently watched the direction from which they had come. Clinging to Flower Picker's hair was her infant daughter.

A minute later, the other members of the greeting party arrived. Jack Driscoll, carrying a machine pistol and an elephant gun, walked beside a slowly moving King Kong, who looked as frail and elderly as a silverback kong could look. Sitting straight and tall on his back, looking as beautiful as ever, was Ann Darrow Driscoll. She was still carrying her Wakandan sonic spear, and her two children were sitting beside her. Those same sonic spears were now also held by some of the citizens of New Zinj, but everyone knew that no one was better with the things than Ann Driscoll.

The conversation stopped as the grand old man of the kong and his human friends entered into the former City of the Dead. Driscoll started up a conversation with Heart Hawkins.

"Papa," Joshua Hayes asked his father. "Papa, _who_ is the lady sitting on the old kong?"

James Hayes turned to Carl Denham with a smile.

"No one answers that question better than you do, Carl," Lt. Hayes said.

Denham cleared his throat.

"Joshua," he said. "That lady is Ann Darrow, Missus Driscoll.

"_She_ is the one who saw beauty in the beast."

The End

**Just so you know, I knew what the last line of this story was going to be before I typed the first line.**

**As for the final fate of the Dietz and his son, it was always my intention to follow the classic Lester Dent treatment for villains. The main villain is not killed or captured by Doc and the gang, he is done in by his own fiendish device. In the case of Adolf Dietz, the fiendish device was New Prussia itself. The henchmen either get arrested, or end up being sent to Doc Savage's "Crime College" in upstate New York. Thus, the not-so-final fate of Junior. The concept of Doc's Crime College, like his upbringing, is something that would seem rather creepy from our modern sensibilities, but in the end I decided to follow standard Dent storytelling procedure here as well. About the only standard Lester Dent plot device that I did not use was Doc Savage faking his death somewhere in the story (which he does much to the distress of his "brothers", a.k.a. the Amazing Five). **

**Hope you enjoyed it. **

**I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of my regular reviewers, especially those who also sent private reviews with constructive criticism (including blooper spotting). Nate, I clearly agreed with your about adding a chapter. Thanks!**

**Also, regarding Jimmy and Nala, this was also a relationship I planned to end this story with before I wrote my first sentence. However, to avoid ookiness, after doing some calculations, and with contributions from ograndebatata, I figure that Nala was about 11 (I doubt the denizens of the City of the Dead tracked birthdays) when she bit Carl's finger in King Kong in 1933. Jimmy was 17 that year. Jimmy (now James) met and married Nala in 1940, when she was 18 and he was 24. Joshua Hayes, named for Mr. Hayes, was then born when Nala was 19 and James was 25. I think that works without too much of an ooky factor. Nala and her people had time to benefit from Wakandan technology and culture, and become a very different people, by then. **

**Peace.**


End file.
